Pope Francis made a harsh rebuke of those who abuse their children or women at home. He said that they were all evildoers and was regarded as such. The Covid-19 epidemic is causing domestic violence to rise.
The remarks by the pontiff were among the Catholic Church’s most stringent condemnations yet of domestic abuse. They were made during a special program that aired on Italy’s TG5 network on Sunday, which introduced to the audience four people struggling with serious hardships in their life and seeking consolation from the Pope.
Giovanna said she was fleeing a dangerous and difficult home. Giovanna took four of her children, but Covid restrictions have made the situation worse. They are now trapped in trauma, destitution, and solitary.
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“The number of women who are beaten and abused at home, even by their own husbands, is very large,”The Pope spoke. “For me, this problem is almost satanic, because abusers take advantage of the weakness of those who cannot defend themselves.”
Francis stated that the abuse of a spouse or parent can be particularly humiliating and vile. Preserving one’s dignity in such a situation is hard, he said, pointing to the inspiring example of Jesus’ mother, Mary, who kept her dignity even as her son was denounced as a criminal and hung near-naked on a cross.
“I see dignity in you,”Giovanna was told by he. “because if you did not have dignity, you would not be here.”
The Christmas special, titled ‘Pope Francis and the Invisibles’, also featured a homeless woman who spoke about how people living on the streets are barely noticed by passersby, a convict trying to rebuild his life after spending 25 years behind bars, and a teenage girl who said she was struggling with being isolated from her peers and the outside world during the pandemic.
Domestic violence has increased in several countries since the last year when many families were affected by the economic downturn and governments imposed lockdowns to stop the spread of Covid-19. In Italy, police say some 90 cases of violence against women are reported every day, with over 60% of them happening in the woman’s own home.
Pope Francis has repeatedly spoken out against domestic violence in his interviews and public appearances, calling out the abusers’ cowardice and urging society to provide better protection for victims.
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