OK to spank your kids? Pope says yes, if you don't demean them
Spank your kids if you must, but make sure you don鈥檛 demean them.
That was the gist of Pope Francis鈥� message to parents around the world during his weekly general audience 鈥� which was about the role of fathers in the family 鈥� held in Rome this week, .
鈥淥ne time, I heard a father in a meeting with married couples say, 鈥業 sometimes have to smack my children a bit, but never in the face so as to not humiliate them,鈥欌�� the pope said. 鈥淗ow beautiful!鈥�
鈥淗e knows the sense of dignity!鈥� Pope Francis added. 鈥淗e has to punish them but does it justly and moves on.鈥�
Some groups, including parents and children鈥檚 rights advocates, criticized the pope for what they saw as an endorsement of corporal punishment.
"It is disappointing that anyone with that sort of influence would make such a comment," Peter Newell, a coordinator at the , told .
Peter Saunders, founder of the UK-based , called the pope鈥檚 statement 鈥渕isguided.鈥�
鈥淚t is a most unhelpful remark to have made and I will tell him that,鈥� said Mr. Saunders, who was abused by Catholic priests as a boy and whom protecting children from abuse.
Others took to Twitter to express their opinions:
The Vatican, however, said the pope wasn鈥檛 talking about committing violence or cruelty to children.
"Who has not disciplined their child or been disciplined by parents when we are growing up?" the Rev. Thomas Rosica, who works for the Vatican press office, told the AP in an email.
"Simply watch Pope Francis when he is with children and let the images and gestures speak for themselves!鈥� Rev. Rosica went on. 鈥淭o infer or distort anything else ... reveals a greater problem for those who don't seem to understand a pope who has ushered in a revolution of normalcy of simple speech and plain gesture.鈥�
This is not the first time the Catholic Church has faced criticism over its position: The subject came up last year during a UN investigation that into the implementation of the , according to the AP.
Nor is it the Pope鈥檚 first time to say something that didn鈥檛 quite sit well with one group or another: Since being elected pontiff in 2013, Pope Francis has been both lauded and lambasted for his 鈥�revolutionary鈥� style of leading the Church.
His most controversial statements, which revolved around such polarizing issues as abortion, gay marriage, and sexual abuse by priests, have been met with alarm by conservative clergy and joy by more liberal Catholics worldwide.
Whatever your opinion about Pope Francis, one thing is certain: He's got everyone talking about the Church again.
