MARY McAleese has accused Pope Francis of "turning the clock back" on children's rights by saying it is acceptable for parents to smack their children.
The former President said the Pope's remarks suggested the Catholic Church was "promoting the corporal punishment of children".
Her comments come after the Pope told a weekly Vatican audience that parents could smack their children, provided the child's "dignity" was maintained.
The Pope outlined the traits of a good father as someone who forgives but is able to "correct with firmness" while not discouraging the child.
His remarks on Wednesday at St Peter's Square have been questioned by child welfare campaigners. Speaking to The Irish News, Mrs McAleese described it as "advocacy of parental corporal punishment".
She questioned his remarks in light of the Catholic Church in Rome, or Holy See, being a signatory to the United Nations' children's rights convention.
Mrs McAleese, originally from Belfast, said: "Is the Holy See now doing what it claimed not to be doing a year ago, namely actively and internationally promoting the corporal punishment of children? "If it is then Pope Francis has surely turned the clock back considerably. "What faith are we to have now in the Holy See's commitment to the Convention on the Rights of the Child?"
? Story in full ? P14 n COMMENTS: Pope Francis sits with children during his recent visit to the Philippines. Inset former president Mary McAleese