The Pope says it is fine for parents to smack their children if they are misbehaving

VATICAN CITY
Daily Mail

By SARA MALM FOR MAILONLINE

Pope Francis has said it is fine for parents to smack their children as punishment for misbehaving.

The Pope said parents should punish their children, ‘do the right thing, and then move on,’ as he acted out the movement of smacking a child on the bottom.

The pontiff made the remarks in front of a large crowd during his weekly general audience in St Peter’s Square on Wednesday.

Addressing the crowd, Pope Francis recalled a conversation he had had with a father who had admitted to him that he would sometimes hit his children as punishment.

‘One time, I heard a father say, “At times I have to hit my children a bit, but never in the face so as not to humiliate them”.,’ the Pope said according to the Telegraph.

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