Addressing the crowd at St Peter's Square, Pope Francis recalled a conversation he had had with a father who had admitted to him that he would sometimes hit his children as punishment.
"Never in the face, so as not to humiliate them"
He said: "One time, I heard a father say, 'At times I have to hit my children a bit, but never in the face so as not to humiliate them.'"
Praising the father, Pope Francis added: “How beautiful. He knows the sense of dignity!
"He has to punish them but does it justly and moves on.”
Many have reacted angrily to the pontiff's comments, insisting that to smack a child is to teach them that violence is acceptable.
However Rev Thomas Rosica, who collaborates with the Vatican press office, has spoken out to defend the Pope.
Speaking with The Guardian, he claimed that Pope Francis was not speaking about committing violence or cruelty against a child but rather about “helping someone to grow and mature”.
He explained: “Who has not disciplined their child or been disciplined by parents when we are growing up?
“Simply watch Pope Francis when he is with children and let the images and gestures speak for themselves.
"To infer or distort anything else … reveals a greater problem for those who don’t seem to understand a pope who has ushered in a revolution of normalcy of simple speech and plain gesture.”
In 39 countries, it is illegal to spank your child in all settings, including at home, where most abuse occurs.
However, despite being advised to rethink the law, parents are allowed to smack their kids in the United Kingdom.
And, in the United States, parents can legally hit their child as long as the force is “reasonable”.
What do you think - should parents have the right to smack their child? Should smacking and slapping be banned, as it encourages violent? Is smacking the resort of 'lazy parenting'?
Let us know via the comments box below now.