Pope Francis Apologizes After Slapping Woman's Hand
Pope Francis is speaking out to apologize after he slapped at a woman’s hand.
The 83-year-old head of the Catholic Church opened up about the incident while speaking to the crowd in St. Peter’s Square for New Year’s on Wednesday (January 1) in Vatican City.
Francis admitted to losing his patience with the woman, who grabbed his hand and pulled him toward her while he was in the square on Tuesday night to check out the Vatican’s Nativity scene.
Cameras show the pope saying something, slapping her hand so she’d let go, frowning angrily, and walking away.
“So many times we lose patience,” Pope Francis told the crowd (via the Associated Press). “Me, too. I say ‘excuse me’ for the bad example.”