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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He’s got a point on the pet thing. People do spend enormous time and energy on pets, and seem to be getting more and more attached. Not that it’s a zero-sum game, but some of that energy could be spent on helping the poor, tutoring kids, etc. I also think it’s nuts that we slaughter millions of cows, chickens, and pigs annually to feed pets.

Well then he should talk about those other important issues and not go after let's. It is possible to have a pet and still be committed to eliminating poverty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What makes me sad is the the Church is anti-IVF. Had a good friend struggle for years to get pregnant and every Sunday, when a particular priest would do the sermon, he always managed to somehow slip in that using medical intervention to get pregnant was an abomination. She was always there with her beautiful DD - conceived through IVF. Don’t understand how it’s okay to rely on medical intervention to treat cancer but literally (god forbid!) women shouldn’t do IVF.

It's her choice not to leave the church. There are plenty of options that don't have an anti-IVF stance.

Millions of catholics basically ignore the churches position on all matter of reprodutive issues. Not really the wheelhouse for childless priests.

Some parishes are progressive and some are conservative. Find one that suits you. There is huge variation on ideas about these issues.

[Anonymous]

It's interesting. I've looked deeper into what the Pope was saying and it seems to me that, in context, he encouraging adoption and veered off message.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:




Exhibit A for why priests should marry and have kids.

Totally, walk a mile in a parents shoes Mr. Pope a Dope.

[Anonymous]

I grew up in a big Catholic family and went to a church where the priests abused the kids. The Catholic church just wants an abundant fresh supply of kids and money from their parents. I could see thru the criminal enterprise at 13 and left the church at 18. I won't give them anymore kids or money.

[Anonymous]

This pope is just an attention whore.

He regularly says controversial things and basks in the triggered reactions. Let's not give him this satisfaction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in a big Catholic family and went to a church where the priests abused the kids. The Catholic church just wants an abundant fresh supply of kids and money from their parents. I could see thru the criminal enterprise at 13 and left the church at 18. I won't give them anymore kids or money.

I grew up in a big Catholic family and went to a church where this didn't happen.

Your experience, tragic and awful as it was, gives you no license to generalize.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This pope is just an attention whore.

He regularly says controversial things and basks in the triggered reactions. Let's not give him this satisfaction.

I doubt he's on DCUM, so we're good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in a big Catholic family and went to a church where the priests abused the kids. The Catholic church just wants an abundant fresh supply of kids and money from their parents. I could see thru the criminal enterprise at 13 and left the church at 18. I won't give them anymore kids or money.

I grew up in a big Catholic family and went to a church where this didn't happen.

Your experience, tragic and awful as it was, gives you no license to generalize.

Just because it didn't happen to you at your parish, your singular experience gives you no license to generalize.

All parishes are part of the pedo machine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in a big Catholic family and went to a church where the priests abused the kids. The Catholic church just wants an abundant fresh supply of kids and money from their parents. I could see thru the criminal enterprise at 13 and left the church at 18. I won't give them anymore kids or money.

I grew up in a big Catholic family and went to a church where this didn't happen.

Your experience, tragic and awful as it was, gives you no license to generalize.

Pp is not generalizing, simply relating their experience. Also, what pp experienced happened at a lot of other churches, as is well documented - no license to generalize required.

Your experience, as benign and normal as it was, gives you no license to generalize.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in a big Catholic family and went to a church where the priests abused the kids. The Catholic church just wants an abundant fresh supply of kids and money from their parents. I could see thru the criminal enterprise at 13 and left the church at 18. I won't give them anymore kids or money.

I grew up in a big Catholic family and went to a church where this didn't happen.

Your experience, tragic and awful as it was, gives you no license to generalize.

How do you know it didn’t happen?

Do you think all of the abused kids have come forward?

[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.

If you read the quote you yourself posted, he didn’t say any of the things you (via rhetorical questions) attribute to him.

[Anonymous]

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

Again, what he said has nothing to do with your situation.

[Anonymous]

I would prefer that people refrain from having children they do not willing to sacrifice anything personally to raise. You cannot work 50 plus hours per week and be a present parent. I'd rather people be selfish on the front end by deciding not to have children than having children and being selfish about living their own life like they never had kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He’s got a point on the pet thing. People do spend enormous time and energy on pets, and seem to be getting more and more attached. Not that it’s a zero-sum game, but some of that energy could be spent on helping the poor, tutoring kids, etc. I also think it’s nuts that we slaughter millions of cows, chickens, and pigs annually to feed pets.

Well then he should talk about those other important issues and not go after let's. It is possible to have a pet and still be committed to eliminating poverty.

Plus, people without kids probably have MORE free time to volunteer and money to donate than people without. And he wasn't making the point that the PP is making about pets; he was saying that it's selfish and diminishes your humanity not to have (multiple) kids.