In news I’m not so sure how to describe, his Holiness Pope Francis has made international headlines after he was filmed slapping a worshipper’s hand after she forcefully yanked at him. Fair enough, but he’s The Pope so people are either a) clutching their pearls in horror or b) laughing, because the old man is acting like a grumpy old man.
[jwplayer cEKm5GNh]
Pope Francis, 83, had been greeting crowds in Vatican City when the incident occurred. As he was turning away, a woman grabbed his hand and pulled her towards him. The sudden movement appeared to hurt the pontiff, who smacked her hand twice before walking away looking visibly annoyed.
This evening after visiting the Nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis loses his cool after being grabbed by a pilgrim who wouldn’t let go of his hand. The Pope repeated slapped her hand and told her to let go of him. pic.twitter.com/6Qrgh8aZKz
— Catholic Sat (@CatholicSat) December 31, 2019
Those damn peasants, tell you what.
As you can expect, the religious leader has been criticised for his reaction. Though many acknowledged the woman was being aggressive, they thought Pope Francis could have handled the situation better considering his incredibly high position of leadership.
Now this is just my opinion, but I reckon Francis bloody hates it when people touch his hands… which is unfortunate considering his, well, job. Earlier this year, footage went viral of him snatching back his hand after worshippers tried to kiss his ring. It kicked off a whole conversation about religious traditions and whatnot, and the Church went into damage control.
Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti said Francis was just worried about germs.
“The Holy Father told me that the motivation was very simple: hygiene. He wants to avoid the risk of contagion for the people, not for him.”
In conclusion: Don’t touch Francis’s hands.
