Pope Francis says there are limits to freedom of speech, especially when it insults or ridicules someone's faith.
But the Vatican later said this didn't mean the attacks on satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo were justified.
Francis spoke about the Paris terror attacks while en route to the Philippines on Thursday, defending free speech as not only a fundamental human right but a duty to speak one's mind for the sake of the common good.
But he said there were limits.
As an example he referred to Alberto Gasbarri, who organises papal trips and was standing by his side aboard the papal plane.
"If my good friend Dr Gasbarri says a curse word against my mother, he can expect a punch," Francis said half-jokingly, throwing a mock punch his way.
"It's normal. You cannot provoke. You cannot insult the faith of others. You cannot make fun of the faith of others."
Francis described the Charlie Hebdo attack as an "aberration" but said a reaction of some sort was to be expected.
A spokesman for the Vatican press office later issued a statement stressing that the pope was by no means justifying the attack on Charlie Hebdo.
"Pope Francis has not advocated violence with his words on the flight," he said in a statement.
He said Francis' words were "spoken colloquially and in a friendly, intimate manner among colleagues and friends on the journey."
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