Pope Francis on Thursday said that fear of germs was the reason he was seen earlier this week yanking his hand away from worshipers so they couldn’t kiss his ring.
“The Holy Father told me that the motivation was very simple,” Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti told reporters. “Hygiene.”
“He wants to avoid the risk of contagion for the people, not for him.”
The pure-minded pope was criticized by conservative Catholics this week who thought that the pope might have been trying to end hundreds of years of tradition when it came to kissing the ring.
The ring kiss is a tradition that goes back centuries and is seen as a sign of respect and deference.
Defenders of the pontiff noted that he only began pulling away after greeting a number of people and said that he still had to lead a prayer and greet sick people after the audience.
Turns out the holy father prefers to receive ring-kisses in smaller groups, Gisotti said, pointing to an audience Wednesday when the pontiff patiently allowed a handful of visitors to canoodle with the jewel.
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