Video footage of angry Pope Francis slapping woman’s hand away goes viral
The Pope was visibly upset after a woman accosted him in a crowd and attempted to pull him towards her.
AFP/Tiziana FABI
A video clip of a visibly annoyed Pope Francis pulling himself away from a woman who tried to take his hand and pull him towards her, slapping her hand twice in the process, is currently causing a stir online.
The clip was taken at St Peter’s Square in the Vatican City on New Year’s Eve. The Pope can be seen happily greeting several pilgrims, turning away from the crowd after reaching out to greet a child.
Then, a woman can be seen abruptly taking hold of the Pope’s hand and attempting to speak to him, which appears to have hurt the Pope and causes him to angrily slap her hand away.
The clip has divided Twitter, with some defending the Pope’s reaction and others expressing the view that the pontiff should have shown more restraint.
PEEVED PONTIFF: Pope Francis does not look happy after a woman grabbed his arm during a walkabout at the Vatican. https://t.co/IdatXCfkT2 pic.twitter.com/SBbgJB5j6I
— ABC News (@ABC) January 1, 2020
#Pope Francis slapped this woman's hand away after she pulled him towards her. pic.twitter.com/6C2cfE85gH
— euronews (@euronews) January 1, 2020
Maybe 2020 is the right time to realize that Pope Francis, like any other pope, is just a regular human like the rest of us. https://t.co/reL8uQiI1X
— Ridvan Aydemir | Apostate Prophet (@ApostateProphet) January 1, 2020
I agree. Not very Christian to keep grabbing someone when they obviously find that unwelcome. I'm with the Pope on this one. https://t.co/aI3yo5TzAT
— Patrick O'Flynn (@oflynnsocial) January 1, 2020
The Pope should've controlled his temper. His conducts are supposed to be examples to people.
— Forget Me Not (@santayuda_) January 1, 2020
He's the Pope, he's level of restraint should be exemplary…
Yes, she did cross the line
— #Blessed (@WTFizWTF) January 1, 2020
https://twitter.com/manishbishoyee/status/1212273934000779264
Pope Francis apologised on Wednesday for his widely-viewed slap.
“We lose patience many times,” he confessed.
“It happens to me too. I apologise for the bad example given yesterday,” he said before celebrating Mass at the Vatican.
(Additional reporting by AFP)
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