The pope calls child-free people/parents of only children 'selfish'

[Anonymous]

These remarks by the pope are simply indefensible. What a disgrace:

"Today we see a form of selfishness. We see that people do not want to have children, or just one and no more. And many, many couples do not have children because they do not want to, or they have just one -- but they have two dogs, two cats ... Yes, dogs and cats take the place of children," the Pope told an audience at the Vatican Wednesday.
"This denial of fatherhood or motherhood diminishes us, it takes away our humanity," he added.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/09/opinions/pope-wrong-about-having-children-currie/index.html

So people who cannot afford to have children are "selfish"? People who are worried about known genetic problems are "selfish"? People who have faced the heartache of fertility problems should just try, try again and not stop trying because that would be "selfish"? People still dealing with the trauma of childhood abuse, neglect or parents with addiction problems are "selfish"? Parents who cannot physically have more than one child, or who cannot afford more than one child, or who are focused on caring for a child with special needs or another difficult diagnosis are "selfish"?

What an un-Christian, immoral thing to say. Especially from someone who made a CHOICE not to be a parent...a career-related choice. And he said it during a pandemic, when many have lost their jobs. He said it as the planet is unstable from the affects of climate change, and a future for any child is likely to be difficult and uncertain.

I can't believe anyone still sees this person as a moral authority.

[Anonymous]

Ha. Right.

He obviously is not aware of the fact that large families is detrimental to environment and in families with > 3 kids the older kids are raising the young ones.

[Anonymous]

Those are bold words coming from a virgin.

[Anonymous]

How many kids have you contributed, sir? And your administration?

[Anonymous]

Tell that to the uterus I lost almost bleeding out during childbirth!

[Anonymous]

Yeah, disagree (with the Pope). I have one child and won't have more. A major factor was the pandemic -- we were under so much stress and the thought of adding a baby to the mix just seemed irresponsible and unfair to the three people already existing in our family. I do sometimes feel said about it and worry my kid will be lonely, but I'm committed to giving them the best life I can no matter what, and there are much worse things in life than being an only child. I also have a bunch of friends without kids and they are great and live fulfilling lives and in many ways are less selfish than I am because I often make choices to benefit my family that can come at the expense of other people in my community. Having a kid focuses you pretty intently on their wellbeing and that doesn't always lead to the most magnanimous behavior, if I'm being honest (like I donate less to charity now than I used to because I want my kid to be able to do activities and put money away for college).

It's just a really narrow-minded viewpoint that only value certain behaviors and not others. And I say this as someone who was raised Catholic -- I agree with the criticism that this is a weird statement from a church that requires celibacy not only of priests but also of nuns, that seems to have an odd relationship with the concept of procreation and family.

But stuff like this is why I'm not Catholic anymore. I guess if you subscribe to the Church's teachings, this might have more resonance with you and you might decide it means you should have kids or have more kids. That's other people's decision to make. I don't feel like he's making a persuasive argument as far as I'm concerned.

[Anonymous]

7 billion f--king people. We do not need any more, for chrissakes.

[Anonymous]

He wouldn't be where he is in his career today if he'd been a mom.

[Anonymous]

Exhibit A for why priests should marry and have kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These remarks by the pope are simply indefensible. What a disgrace:

"Today we see a form of selfishness. We see that people do not want to have children, or just one and no more. And many, many couples do not have children because they do not want to, or they have just one -- but they have two dogs, two cats ... Yes, dogs and cats take the place of children," the Pope told an audience at the Vatican Wednesday.
"This denial of fatherhood or motherhood diminishes us, it takes away our humanity," he added.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/09/opinions/pope-wrong-about-having-children-currie/index.html

So people who cannot afford to have children are "selfish"? People who are worried about known genetic problems are "selfish"? People who have faced the heartache of fertility problems should just try, try again and not stop trying because that would be "selfish"? People still dealing with the trauma of childhood abuse, neglect or parents with addiction problems are "selfish"? Parents who cannot physically have more than one child, or who cannot afford more than one child, or who are focused on caring for a child with special needs or another difficult diagnosis are "selfish"?

What an un-Christian, immoral thing to say. Especially from someone who made a CHOICE not to be a parent...a career-related choice. And he said it during a pandemic, when many have lost their jobs. He said it as the planet is unstable from the affects of climate change, and a future for any child is likely to be difficult and uncertain.

I can't believe anyone still sees this person as a moral authority.

I don't agree with his point, but in fairness he did not make the arguments you or the author of the article are making in bold, so ...

[Anonymous]

I agree with him in certain ways.

That being said he’s a puppet. He says highly inflammatory things all the time. I often disagree with him. I follow God not some puppet man who’s not actual following the word.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:




Exhibit A for why priests should marry and have kids.

+1. It's such a better life. In the Catholic Church that we're members of, priests are allowed to marry provided that it is done prior to ordination. As a result, they can be married with children while serving in the priesthood but they cannot be promoted to higher office. Most Eastern Catholic Churches work this way. My DH has a family member that is a priest with many children.

[Anonymous]

The Pope says a lot of things. A lot of what he says is good, and helpful, and needing to be said. No one here is going to give him credit for that. Instead, they will seize upon, misinterpret, twist to the extreme, and use out of context things that he says that, on a surface level, are disagreeable -- because they are predisposed against him and against the Catholic religion.

I strongly suspect that if one were to actually talk with him, he would agree that, under the many circumstances described here by all of these faux outraged posters, it's not "selfish" not to have kids. No one here would be interested in doing that, however. That's not your way.

[Anonymous]

It does a real number on people’s mental health when you tell them that regardless of what they want or feel capable of, they are selfish and their humanity is diminished if they don’t have multiple children, but at the same time, they can’t use assisted reproduction if they can’t conceive via good old intercourse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Pope says a lot of things. A lot of what he says is good, and helpful, and needing to be said. No one here is going to give him credit for that. Instead, they will seize upon, misinterpret, twist to the extreme, and use out of context things that he says that, on a surface level, are disagreeable -- because they are predisposed against him and against the Catholic religion.

I strongly suspect that if one were to actually talk with him, he would agree that, under the many circumstances described here by all of these faux outraged posters, it's not "selfish" not to have kids. No one here would be interested in doing that, however. That's not your way.

Oh, we all realize that. Let's just say that when you're the Pope, and you know your words are going to be dissected out of context, it would behoove you to not say too many of them and to really consider before you speak.
This is what the other Popes did, and what public figures around the world strive to do. He's supposed to be infallible, for heaven's sake! Surely that would make any human think a hundred times before they do anything or open their mouth

But it's easier for some people than others. This Pope is gregarious and chatty and can't help himself. It makes him relatable for his fans, and gives ammunition to his detractors. I'm sure he accepts that and his PR people are facepalming and saying: "well you put your foot in it again!".