Pope Francis told mothers with babies they shouldn’t be ashamed of breastfeeding their babies in public. In fact, the pope encouraged women to breast feed their child in public at a baptism ceremony in the Sistine Chapel, telling them that a hungry baby has to eat.
Sunday, Pope Francis, baptized 33 children in the Sistine Chapel. As he was reading his speech, babies started to cry, and the catholic leader told mothers they are allowed to breast feed him.
“You mothers give your children milk and even now, if they cry because they are hungry, breastfeed them, don’t worry,”
said Pope Francis. adding that mothers should never hesitate breast feeding their babies, if the child is hungry. As the 33 children in the chapel were crying, Pope Francis, reminded the listeners to think about how many babies in the world are starving and how many mothers cant feed their children.
This isn’t the first time Pope Francis, expressed his support and encourage public breast feeding. In December 2013, he had a speech about this, in a interview for La Stampa, where he told a story about a happening. He said that during one of his public appearances, there was a woman holding a baby. At one point the baby had started crying really loud. And the mother was trying to calm him down. The pope approached her and told her that he must be hungry and she should feed him. But the woman was embarrassed to breast feed her child in public, while the pope was passing. And that his message was not only for that woman but for the entire world: “Give people something to eat!” he added.
Pope’s Francis’s speech was very welcomed by the groups of people supporting breast feeding in public, something that people are quite against off. For example, in the United States, while there are some states where public breast feeding is allowed, there are places where many mothers have been asked to cover up or to find a restroom to breast feed their child. Public breast feeding in media had also created similar judgemental reactions.
Pope Francis has been the first non European pope from all the 1,300 before him, and was elected on March 13, 2013 in Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel.
Image Source: JillStanek
