Disciplining children is part of good parenting, says Pope Francis. That includes spanking the kids when necessary and in the proper way, the pontiff said on Thursday at his weekly general audience in the Vatican.

Pope Francis quotes a father he heard state in a meeting with married couples that whenever he has to spank his kids, he never hits them in the face which humiliates the child.

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Before the pontiff gets misunderstood again like his recent comment on rabbits and having so many children, Vatican spokesman Fr. Thomas Rosica stressed that the pope is not in favor of corporal punishment or cruelty to children. Rather, he wants the faithful to view occasional "harsh measure" as helping the youth mature and grow.

Fr. Rosica points out in an email to the New York Times, "Who has not disciplined their child or been disciplined by parents when we are growing up?" He laments that some people tend to distort the pope's statements or infer something from his simple speech and plain gesture.

The daily notes that the Catholic Church was reminded by the UN in its final report on the treaty on the rights of the child that mandates all signatories to the treaty, which includes Vatican State, to initiate measures, including crafting of law and through educational programs, to protect children from all types of mental of physical violence. It includes the home situation when children are under the discipline of their parents.

The UN sought a total ban on corporal punishment in all Catholic schools and institutions around the world. The UN move is because of reports that many schools and institutions operated by Catholics, especially in Ireland, are heavy handed, and their excessive use of force has been described as reaching "endemic levels."

TagsPope Francis, spanking, corporal punishment