IRELAND
The Irish Times
Paul Cullen
Sat, Feb 7, 2015
Former president Mary McAleese has criticised Pope Francis’s apparent support for parents smacking their children in the name of discipline.
Ms McAleese accused the Vatican of reversing its position on parental corporal punishment, and questioned whether the pope “has turned the clock back considerably”.
“What faith are we to have now in the Holy See’s commitment to the Convention on the Rights of the Child?” she asked in a letter to The Irish Times.
Speaking in Rome this week, Pope Francis outlined the traits of a good father – one who forgives but is able to “correct with firmness” while not discouraging the child.
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