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Rome (CNN) - Pope Francis used his New Year's message to denounce violence against women, hours after hitting the hand of a woman who had pulled him toward her.
“Women are sources of life. However, they are continually insulted, beaten, raped, forced to prostitute themselves and repress the life they lead in the womb, ”the pontiff told the faithful gathered at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican on Wednesday.
"Every form of violence inflicted on a woman is blasphemy against God, who was born from a woman."
Shortly before beginning his traditional New Year's speech, the pope said he regretted hitting a woman's hand the day before.
"I apologize for yesterday's bad example," he said, stepping out of the script before the sermon on violence.
Pope Francis was on his way to the Nativity scene in Vatican City on Tuesday, New Year's Eve. When he began to move away from the crowd that had gathered to greet him, a video shows a woman grabbing her hand and pulling him toward her.
The Pope looks upset, hitting the woman's hand in an attempt to break free. The images of the altercation also seem to show him shouting at the woman.
Before the incident, the woman had made the sign of the cross. He addressed the 83-year-old pope when he took her hand, but it is not clear what he was trying to tell him.
During his New Year address on Wednesday, the pontiff also spoke about gender equality and told the congregation that women "should be fully included in the decision-making processes."
"Every step forward for women is a step forward for humanity as a whole."
Sarah Dean and Nicole Chavez of CNN contributed to this report