Disgruntled Pope Francis slaps hand of woman who grabs him; later apologizes

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I don’t blame him for how he reacted as he did appear to be visibly hurt and an 83 year old losing his balance could be serious. At the same time, if Pope Francis is going to keep his “man of the people” schtick going, incidents like this are going to have to be expected from time to time. This isn’t the first time an overzealous bystander grabbed Pope Francis forcefully, and it probably won’t be the last.
 
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What she did was wrong. But the Pope’s reaction to her was not very nice. Once he saw who was pulling on him and why, he could have had a kinder response. The look on his face showed great annoyance.

She looked like a woman that was waiting to see the Pope and was watching very intently for that moment he would shake her hand, and then, it didn’t happen.
 
If I’m at work and a member of the public were to grab me suddenly, I would act similarly. Nobody should be ambushed.
 
If anyone were to grab you in public, you have every right to defend and free yourself. Who knows what these people are trying to do. I’ll assume that I’m being attacked!
 
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Ah, but you do not have bodyguards to watch for dangerous people. And you are not the Pope.

Well, not yet. 😉
 
I cringed when I saw this. I hate to be monday morning quarterback since it happened so quickly but I wish security could have stepped in and been a little more assertive in separating her from him. She didn’t need to pull him back, it obviously caused him discomfort. I just wish it could have been broken up sooner so it didn’t have to lead to him slapping her hand. Justified or not, I didn’t like seeing that and seeing the situation lead to that.

All this said, I do wonder what she was trying to say to him.
 
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I too wondered why the body guards did not prevent her from getting to him as she did.

But the look on his face…
 
Someone else posted the same topic
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Disgruntled Pope Francis slaps hand of woman who grabs him; later apologizes Catholic News
The pope doesn’t have any ill will toward the woman, does he? https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-himself-free-from-womans-grasp-idUSKBN1YZ190
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He’s the Vicar of Christ, not some rock band star to be grabbed at and yanked towards oneself.

Regardless of whether she was disappointed at missing out as she was next to greet the Pope - the fact was, he had already turned away and was walking towards others, so instead of accepting that she’d missed out, she yanked him towards her! (Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

It appears he said something to her, perhaps telling her to let go, but she still hung on, so he slapped her hand - I don’t blame him.
 
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He had plenty of time to notice it was a woman and one who was small in stature at that. Sorry but it is never okay to hit a woman outside of defending yourself and even then you try and deflect. He also has bodyguards to take care of that sort of thing.
 
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Yeah, the whole thing was just really cringeworthy to watch as someone who watched John Paul II interact with pilgrims my whole life and never saw an incident come to something like that, and for better or worse he was revered and sought after like a rock star.
 
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The Holy Father was already walking away when the woman pulled him back. I believe he was stunned and the pulling probably caused him some pain. Don’t think he meant to hit her It was a quick reaction on Pope Francis part. Look at the video again, God bless you my friend…Happy New Year…Peace, joy and so much love, I pray comes to you.
 
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Watching this made me physically sick. I would be crushed if I had been that woman. I did see, however, that the Holy Father attended a funeral today for a friend. I wonder if that impacted his mood.
 
You don’t touch people without their consent. Even a Pope. And you don’t grab old people and jerk on them.

I don’t see why the Pope’s reaction is seen as anything but appropriate.
 
I’m wondering…would Jesus have done the same thing when the lepers and cripples would grab at him going through a crowd? “What the heck are you doing? Get your paws off me now.” smack - smack

Something tells me, “No” – that Jesus would have given a much gentler response. In fact, I think Jesus would have been taken back a bit, but smiled upon the women, and maybe said something really sweet to her, graced her cheek with His hand and blessed her. That’s what my Jesus would do…
 
gracepoole said:
Watching this made me physically sick. I would be crushed if I had been that woman. I did see, however, that the Holy Father attended a funeral today for a friend. I wonder if that impacted his mood.
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The other possibility is that he was physically in pain from the pull. Perhaps he has an arthritic condition (or similar) in his hand or shoulder that overcame him in the moment. Look at the video, his arm was pulled backward in an awkward position. Not to excuse but to explain his reaction.
 
It’s all a spontaneous reaction, for all we know, he goes through the crowds and is not greatly aware of who he is shaking hands with, just going through the motions. That’s not to downplay the importance of each person in anyway. Not much of a story really.
 
Rhubarb said:
You don’t touch people without their consent. Even a Pope. And you don’t grab old people and jerk on them.

I don’t see why the Pope’s reaction is seen as anything but appropriate.
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Amen!

The pope is an old man with a bad back and bad balance. He was obviously pained. She could have seriously hurt him had she pulled him over. 😡
 
angelboy63 said:
Something tells me, “No” – that Jesus would have given a much gentler response. In fact, I think Jesus would have been taken back a bit, but smiled upon the women, and maybe said something really sweet to her, graced her cheek with His hand and blessed her. That’s what my Jesus would do…
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Pope Francis is not Jesus. He is a man just like the rest of us… a sinner as he always says. His reaction was consistent was what happened to him.
 
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