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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsPope blames ‘culture of comfort’ for intentionally childless marriages
Well alrighty, then. I guess the childless friends and family in my circle -- whose reasons for deciding to remain childless are varied and personal -- are just a bunch of selfish twits who would rather have fancy homes and trips around the world. (Well, even if they did, so what?)
But let me get the rules straight here because they're getting a bit complicated. According to Francis or the church or Jesus or whoever supposedly made up these rules, if you do want a child but haven't been able to conceive, in vitro fertilization, artificial insemination and surrogate mothers are out. Gays might want to be parents but that's also a no-no, plus they shouldn't even think of adoption. Single motherhood is definitely not what God had in mind, as a child is supposed to be the fruitful manifestation of the love between one man and one woman.
Got that? Glad we finally have that all settled.
http://www.todayscatholicnews.org/2014/06/pope-blames-culture-of-comfort-for-intentionally-childless-marriages/
Pope blames culture of comfort for intentionally childless marriages
By Carol Glatz
VATICAN CITY (CNS) Pope Francis blamed a culture of well-being and comfort for convincing married couples that a carefree life of world travel and summer homes was better than having children.
He said married couples should look at how Jesus loves his church to learn how to be faithful, perseverant and fruitful in their vocation...
... Couples who deal with infertility or loss can still look to Jesus and draw the strength of fruitfulness that Jesus has with his church.
However, there are things that Jesus doesnt like, he said, such as married couples who dont want children, who want to be without fruitfulness.
MORE at http://www.todayscatholicnews.org/2014/06/pope-blames-culture-of-comfort-for-intentionally-childless-marriages/
sakabatou
(42,082 posts)Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)Arugula Latte
(50,566 posts)who had the audacity to be scientifically accurate rather than embrace magical tales.
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)Fortunately for him, we will probably have destroyed the environment before the Church figures out about lifespans and over-crowding....and then maybe being fruitful will be important again.
KurtNYC
(14,549 posts)and how about the Disciples? childless travelers.
And the Pope -- 1) childless, 2) travels the world and 3) has a summer home which is its own city-state.
LondonReign2
(5,213 posts)a whole lot more "fruitlessness" when it comes to overpopulation.
mylye2222
(2,992 posts)Maybe should he try to understand why does people not want to have children.
The werstern world economy, and maybe future stability, is uncertain
Why having kids If you are afraid of their future. ?
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)I'll start believing his press.
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)will have to get married, or better yet, make their nice babies available for adoption.
Cerridwen
(13,251 posts)to being able to afford a family.
He has made several statements about income equality and such hasn't he? Does he not see how one might lead to another?
chemenger
(1,593 posts)I'd rather have an ice cream cone than a piece of fruit any day.
Rider3
(919 posts)That's my reason. I would have loved to have children.
Exposethefrauds
(531 posts)Response to theHandpuppet (Original post)
ismnotwasm This message was self-deleted by its author.
Amaril
(1,267 posts).....coming from a man who has chosen to be celibate -- and therefore, childless -- for life.
It's part of the "what's good for me is not good for thee" mindset.
Anyone who doesn't want children should not have them. The world needs more people to have fewer children. I see people like the Duggars and I want to vomit. They are promoting harm to this planet by promoting overpopulation.
That's not being a "good steward" of this earth.
Squinch
(50,773 posts)is the way you want to go with this one?
GeorgeGist
(25,294 posts)more people.
SheilaT
(23,156 posts)I've seen where someone on vacation feels terribly sorry for the couple without children. It's really hilarious, because it's clearly ironical, yet pretends the couple who never had to deal with newborns or scruffy teenagers are somehow deprived.
I had two kids and personally I'm glad I did. But whatever reason anyone has for not having kids is valid, and yes, the most important issue I think is that the world is vastly overpopulated already. A lot of our climate change issues directly stems from too many people. Same with the destruction of habitat, pollution, and so on.
There is a limit to the carrying capacity of this planet, and we are already well beyond it in numbers of people already here.
theHandpuppet
(19,964 posts)And in the end, this marriage will end in old age in solitude, with the bitterness of bad solitude.
That reminds me. I have a furchild calling for her Fancy Feast.
Le Taz Hot
(22,271 posts)Having children does NOT guarantee that people won't "end old age in solitude." Any questions? Go to any convalescent home. Most of the people there have children and all too many are never visited by those same children. Just shoved to the side and forgotten.
theHandpuppet
(19,964 posts)It's heartbreaking. When my wife's mother went to an assisted living facility, we visited her every day. I made her lunch every day, ran any errands for her, and in the evenings we'd both go over, even if it was just to chat. It never occurred to us that this was anything special or out of the ordinary and neither was it just an obligation. On the other hand, there were many elderly there who hadn't had a single visit for MONTHS -- just been left there to die by their kids. It broke my heart.
But my wife and I are a gay couple -- in some of the retirement homes run by religious organizations (and there are a lot of them), we wouldn't even be welcome. For you see, we don't qualify as a "real" family.
gollygee
(22,336 posts)is more like it. We don't have to populate the earth. It's already populated.
Arugula Latte
(50,566 posts)msongs
(67,193 posts)FiveGoodMen
(20,018 posts)Let him point to where Jesus said that.
Squinch
(50,773 posts)centipedes skeeve him. It's in the Bible. Seriously.
I knew I liked that Jesus guy for some reason.
Lucky Charms are
LadyHawkAZ
(6,199 posts)MineralMan
(146,192 posts)don't have children, but who tell others how they must reproduce. Odd, that. And then there is the problem with those same guys messing with children sexually. Jesus doesn't seem to punish them, either.
I'm really confused about this religion stuff. I'm glad I chose atheism and not to reproduce. Jesus? Well, best of luck to him. He doesn't seem to have been around much lately...
lumpy
(13,704 posts)1000words
(7,051 posts)Make like a good Catholic, Frank, and forgive me.
upaloopa
(11,417 posts)I am glad I don't have a kid or two who has to make it in our corporate oligarchy.
Even a thing like GMO foods and our obesity problem caused by what kind of food is available and the life styles we live is reason enough to not want to throw another person into the mix.
LiberalAndProud
(12,799 posts)If these are spiritual values, I do not see their connection to morality. YMMV.
GreenPartyVoter
(72,377 posts)RobinA
(9,878 posts)childless man who lives in a gigantic mansion with servants to do everything, who travels the world and probably has any number of places to stay in the summer. Jeez, dude...buy a clue.
Tierra_y_Libertad
(50,414 posts)Kind of like a nutritionist selling twinkies while condemning sugar.
undeterred
(34,658 posts)MattBaggins
(7,894 posts)ananda
(28,783 posts)People have all kinds of different reasons for remaining childless,
most of them good from my experience.
It's none of the pope's business. Period.
Throd
(7,208 posts)3catwoman3
(23,815 posts)People who do not want children should most definitely NOT have them. Furthermore, I have seen plenty of parents who thought they wanted kids, but don't have the necessary skill sets and shouldn't have had them.
peabody
(445 posts)When's he going to have kids?