Pope Francis has likened domestic violence against women to being a humiliating, satanic act.
“The number of women who are beaten and abused in their homes, even by their husbands, is very, very high,” he said in a broadcast by Italy’s TG5.
“The problem is that, for me, it is almost satanic because it is taking advantage of a person who cannot defend herself, who can only try to block the blows. It is humiliating. Very humiliating,” the Independent newspaper quoted him as saying.
The leader of the Catholic Church made the comments while speaking to a woman named Giovanna who, with her four children, had fled an abusive husband.
The Pope praised her for speaking out. “You are giving an example of resistance, a lesson of resistance to calamities,” he said. “You’re coming out better than before.”
He also said: “I see dignity in you because if you didn’t have dignity, you wouldn’t be here.”
