Pope Francis apologised on Wednesday for having angrily slapped a woman's arm when she had grabbed hold of his hand and yanked him towards her, saying he had lost his patience and set a "bad example".<br /><br />His unusual apology came after he used his first homily of the new year to denounce violence against women, which he compared to profaning God.<br /><br />Pope Francis, 83, had a sharp encounter with a woman on Tuesday evening during a walkabout in St. Peters Square.
