Pope Francis: the choice to not have children is selfish

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Pope Francis: the choice to not have children is selfish

Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Grosseto
Wednesday 11 February 2015 20.44 GMT

Pope Francis has chided couples who choose not to have children , saying the decision was a “selfish” act.

The statement, which he made in his general audience in St Peter’s Square, will be seen as especially controversial in Italy, which has recorded a steady drop in its birth rate for decades.

“A society with a greedy generation, that doesn’t want to surround itself with children, that considers them above all worrisome, a weight, a risk, is a depressed society,” the pope said.

“The choice to not have children is selfish. Life rejuvenates and acquires energy when it multiplies: It is enriched, not impoverished.”

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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/11/pope-francis-the-choice-to-not-have-children-is-selfish

[Siwsan]

1. Umm, didn't he choose to not have children?

Or am I missing something.

[skepticscott]

12. His reasons for not having children are pure and holy

But he can read the minds of everyone ELSE who has decided not to have children and know that THEIR reasons are selfish. And then pass judgement on them.

What a sick, arrogant piece of shit he is. How dare he judge ANYONE that way? And how can anyone with a conscience support or praise someone like this?

[MADem]

28. No, you're not missing a thing, I don't think!

He usually hits 'em out of the park--he swung and missed this time!

Oh well, even Babe Ruth struck out on occasion!

[elehhhhna]

2. he wants more wealthy people to have more children

This is just business development.

[arcane1]

6. Exactly. Mustn't shrink the pool!

[arcane1]

3. Childless couples leave no one behind to pass the collection plate to n/t

[VanillaRhapsody]

4. Fuck the Pope and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse he rode in on!

He can bite my childless ass!

[riversedge]

5. Some days he is rude!

[trotsky]

30. Rude?

Personally I think telling women any discussion of their equality is "off the table", telling people fighting for marriage equality that they are on Satan's side, and seeking to deny reproductive choice to everyone (Catholic or not) is a bit more than "rude."

[uriel1972]

35. Blank Frank the PR Pope...

Gives a nice speech and almost everyone lines up to kiss his shoes. Gives a bad one and almost everyone says, we don't understand, or he's just playing to the cardinals or whatever excuse they give.

I'm sick of the repulsive adoration of this individual who denies me my existence as a person. Somehow I'm confused or the agent of Satan or something less than human. I am sick, sick, sick of it and the total and utter moral bankrupt sideshow of his toadies.

[trotsky]

36. Couldn't agree more. n/t

[SummerSnow]

7. Keep out of peoples reproductive organs .

[NV Whino]

8. Fuck the pope.

[niyad]

21. not even with someone's else's genitalia

[NV Whino]

23. You have a point

Wrong choice of words.

[SummerSnow]

9. fYI ....

What about couples who decide not to have children cause of economic problems. Maybe they'll wait until things get better for them so they can take care of their children. Very unselfish decision. Mind your business Pope. Then I knew of couples who planned on having children, well to do and were horrible parents.

[Mariana]

25. They should just depend upon God to provide, I guess.

It's selfish, you know, to refrain from having children just because you can't afford to feed, house, and clothe them.

[Hoppy]

10. --- as long as we don't breed like rabbits.

Agnes, before you press the alert button, the point about Catholics not breeding like rabbits was raised by Pope Francis a couple of weeks ago.

You can look it up in the Google tubes.

[trotsky]

31. Glad you put the disclaimer on there.

Wouldn't want to get a post hidden for simply quoting the pope!

[Hoppy]

33. --- if you knew the number of my posts that have been alerted.... And banned.

[msongs]

11. he wants more little catholics who will give their $$ to the church nt

[bvf]

13. If you don't have kids

how can you smack them when they get out of line?

Just don't breed like rabbits, OK?

Wait, it's OK to breed like rabbits.

Over a billion people call this guy boss. Is that fucked up or what?

[Fumesucker]

14. What if you know you aren't responsible enough to be a parent?

Isn't not having children you are not responsible enough to raise properly the responsible thing to do?

[elehhhhna]

15. then you are selfish. he said so.

[Fumesucker]

16. What's his excuse?

[HeiressofBickworth]

17. And how about the "selfish" act

of foregoing parenthood when one knows they carry a defective gene that would produce a child who would suffer their whole life?

It all points to the conclusion that reasons for not wanting to reproduce are as varied and wide as the population at large. How DARE a guy in a dress on a throne in Rome pass any judgment on the intentions of people who do not chose to reproduce. PIG!

[Panich52]

18. What about those who are concerned about the dangers of overpopulation?

[Mariana]

26. Selfish. nt.

[Trillo]

19. No. It's to protect them from folks like you.

I love my children, and I could never voluntarily bring them to this pit of hell.

[niyad]

20. frankie boy, stuff it!

[niyad]

22. which is it, frankie? don't breed like rabbits, don't use birth control, selfish not to have kids?

or are you just worried about the pool of victims drying up?

[Terra Alta]

24. I choose not to have children for a variety of reasons.

None of them are selfish reasons.

I have several mental and neurological disorders that I would NOT want to pass on. Because of these disorders, I don't see myself capable of raising children. What would be selfish would be if I DID have children, knowing they would likely be born with some kind of disorder and knowing I would not be prepared to take care of them.

[Dawson Leery]

27. Time for the RCC to disappear.

Francis should have gotten married and had children if he believes it is important.

Again we have another privileged male telling us what to do with our lives.

[Arugula Latte]

34. Well, he wears a giant penis hat so he is entitled to tell us what to do.

[bulloney]

29. What about the families that have lots of kids because of the attention it brings them?

Isn't that selfish?

I know several families of 10 or more children. The oldest was usually sentenced to a life of raising the younger siblings because mother is incapacitated during the pregnancy or the recovery from pregnancy. In most of those cases, that oldest child couldn't get out of the house fast enough. And they typically have only one or two children, if that many.

[cbayer]

32. He also said it's christian to protect the environment.

One statement actually has weight, the other is just silly.