Pope Francis, 83, had a sharp encounter with a woman on Tuesday evening during a walkabout in St. Peters Square. The pilgrim, who has not been identified, unexpectedly seized his hand and pulled him towards her, causing him evident alarm. “So many times we lose patience, even me, and I apologize for yesterday’s bad example,” the pope told thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday at the end of the traditional New Year Mass. “All violence inflicted on women is a desecration of God,” he told a packed St. Peter’s Basilica. “We can understand our level of humanity by the way we treat a woman’s body,” he told the congregation.

Source: National Post January 01, 2020 12:56 UTC