During an interview on Italian television, this Sunday, December 19, Pope Francis described domestic violence as an act “almost satanic”.
“It is taking advantage of the weakness of someone who cannot defend himself,” added the Sovereign Pontiff during a special program devoted to him on the TG5 channel.
Entitled “François et les invisibles”, the program made him interact with several people with difficult life journeys, including a woman victim of violence forced to flee with her children. “I see a lot of dignity in you, because if you had lost your dignity, you wouldn’t be here,” he told her.
112 victims in italy in 2021
“So many women have been abused and beaten within their own homes,” Pope Francis denounced. “We can only block the blows. It’s humiliating, very humiliating ”.
The number of cases of domestic violence has been multiplied by the health crisis and successive confinements. Since the start of the year, 112 women have been killed in Italy, according to the Interior Ministry, more than half of them by their current or former husband or companion. In France, the figure is at least 109, according to the collective “Feminicides by companions or ex” which keeps a count on its Facebook page.
The Pope, who celebrated his 85th birthday on Friday, has repeatedly taken a stand against violence against women, which he compared in 2020 to “desecration”.
