Pope apologises to devotee for slapping her hand

The head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, on Wednesday apologised after slapping a woman's hand after she grabbed him among a sea of devotees gathered at Saint Peter's Square in the Vatican on New Year's eve.

Just as the Pope was leaving after greeting the crowd before the nativity scene at the square, a woman pulled his hand and refused to let go. The Pope dismayed by the entire episode slapped her hand in an effort to break free.

He later apologised for his poor conduct.

"We lose patience many times," the Pope stated in his speech before celebrating mass at the Vatican.

"It happens to me too. I apologise for the bad example given yesterday," he added.

The Pope delivered a speech condemning violence of all forms against women shortly after the incident.

Francis said in his speech that women were "continually insulted, beaten, raped, forced to prostitute themselves and to suppress the life they bear in the womb" and that they were "sacrificed on the profane altars of advertising, of profiteering, of pornography."