Beyond religious beliefs, Pope Francis likes me as a person. He is a different Pope, close to people, humble, simple, human. One of his last gestures worth highlighting was that encouraged a woman to breastfeed in public.
While many people are horrified to see something as natural and normal as a mother feeding her baby in public, the Pope encourages him.
In a report to the Italian newspaper The Stampa, the Pope showed his support to nursing mothers, saying that they should not feel ashamed to breastfeed in public.
He told a story that happened during his general Wednesday audience:
As he approached the barrier he saw a mother with her baby of a few months in her arms who is crying. She caressed him.
The Pope told him: "Madam, I think the child is hungry"
The mother answered: "Yes, surely, it's time to eat"
The Pope replied: "Please give him something to eat"
The woman was shy and embarrassed to breastfeed in public while the Pope passed by. The same thing I said to that woman I say to humanity, "give people something to eat".
And he added:
That woman had milk to feed her son, we have enough food in the world to feed all people. If we work with humanitarian organizations and are able to agree all so as not to waste food, sending them instead to the people who need it, we can do much to solve the problem of world hunger. I would like to repeat to humanity what I said to that mother: feed those who are hungry.
Following many prohibitions on breastfeeding in public places, we asked ourselves a while ago if it is appropriate to breastfeed in the church, since it could be understood as a gesture of impudity or provocation. With this gesture of the Pope we already have the answer.
Feed a hungry baby can never be frowned upon. Women should be encouraged to normalize breastfeeding in public.
