Pope Francis's Arguement Against Children

In February of 2015, Pope Francis made a public statement condoning the use of corporal punishment against children, stating that “it’s OK for parents to spank children, so long as it is done with dignity” (Smith-Spark, 2015). The pope addressed this issue in St. Peter’s Square as he was addressing the need for fathers and their significance in the family. He went on to say that the value surrounding reprimand must be done without causing sacrifice to the child’s dignity but one of penalty with absolution, even going so far as to say “When he punishes, he does it right and moves on” (Smith-Spark, 2015). The pope’s statement brought forth strong reaction from the general public on both sides of the argument yet much of the backlash against him was

Hinckley, President, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, strongly disagrees with the Pope on his stance on corporal punishment. He states, “I have never accepted the principle of 'spare the rod and spoil the child.'... I am persuaded that violent fathers produce violent sons... Children don't need beating. They need love and encouragement. They need fathers to whom they can look with respect rather than fear. Above all, they need example." (Riak, 1992 ) Proof of this may be the case of Adrian Peterson, halfback for the Minnesota Vikings Football Team, who last year was accused of beating his four year old child with a switch as a form of spanking, he chose not to spare the rod and he was charged with battery (Swanson, 2014 ) Indeed even those who think it is ok to spank, were appalled by what Adrian did to his child; he broke open the skin and left bruises. Former NBA star Charles Barkley claims that this method of raising children is more prominent among African American Communities in the South; indeed sixty one percent of African American respondents to a poll about legality of corporal punishment via a switch should be legal versus only twenty nine percent of White Americans (Swanson, 2014