Domestic violence, an “almost satanic” problem for Pope Francis

It is a new strong position that the head of the Catholic Church took on Sunday evening against violence against women. During a special on an Italian television channel, Pope Francis said domestic violence was an act “almost satanic”, regretting the large number of women “abused and beaten within their own home, even by their husbands”.

“It is a problem which, in my eyes, is almost satanic, because it is to take advantage of the weakness of someone who cannot defend himself”, declared the sovereign pontiff on the channel TG5, which made it dialogue during this emission with four people with difficult courses. Among them was a woman, victim of violence and who had to flee her husband with her children.

“We can only block the blows. It’s humiliating, very humiliating”, recognized the Pope during the conversation with this mother of a family, adding: “I see a lot of dignity in you, because if you had lost your dignity, you wouldn’t be here”. This is not the first time that the Pope has made such statements. In 2020, he compared domestic violence to a “desecration”.

On this broadcast, the Pope also encouraged parents not to hit their children, denounced overcrowding in prisons and recalled that the Church was against the death penalty.

All over the world, the number of cases of domestic violence has multiplied by the health crisis and successive confinements. Since January, in Italy, 112 women have been killed according to the Minister of the Interior. More than half of these feminicides were committed by a spouse or former spouse or partner.

In France in 2020, 159,400 people of all sexes were victims of domestic violence, according to the Minister of the Interior. Already very important at first glance, these figures would also be underestimated.