Pope Francis condemns body shaming and reveals a story from his childhood

Pope Francis today (9/26/2023) denounced the culture of bullying another person because of his body type, a culture often observed among young people, as he revealed a little-known story about his childhood.

In an online discussion with university students in Asia, Pope Francis admitted that he was a victim of body shaming as a young child, bullying a friend.

“I remember a friend of mine who was a little fat and we used to make fun of him. I dare say we scared him“Once we pushed him and he fell down,” Francis said. “When I returned home, my father found out and took me to my classmate’s house to apologize.”

The 86-year-old head of the Roman Catholic Church said he reconnected with his friend years later and learned he had become an evangelical priest. This man died recently.

The conversation about body shame began when a woman from India told him what it was like as a teenager She felt ashamed and inferior in front of her classmates Because of her weight and body shape, she was bullied.

“It doesn’t matter if a person is fat, skinny, short, or tall; The important thing is to live in harmony, in harmony with your soulIn response to the woman, Pope Francis said: “Every man and every woman has his own beauty and we must truly learn to recognize it.”

The woman also spoke about pressure on social media, prompting Pope Francis to share his own story.

In the same discussion with students, Pope Francis also mentioned plastic surgery.

He said, quoting a famous quote by Italian actress Anna Magnani, who said: “Please don’t retouch my wrinkles. It took me a long time to earn them.”

With information from APE-MEB, Reuters