Pope Francis slammed married couples who choose not to have children as "selfish," adding that a society in which people make excuses not to give birth is depressed.
Pope Francis made the comments in his general audience in St Peter's Square., the Guardian reported.
"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," Pope Francis said. "The choice to not have children is selfish. Life rejuvenates and acquires energy when it multiplies: It is enriched, not impoverished."
The Pope was talking about the joy of children and the role they play in society, and recalled his own childhood, sharing how his mother would answer questions about favoritism.
When asked who among her five children was her favourite, she would say: "I have five children like I have five fingers. If they beat one of my fingers, all five hurt. All of my children are mine, but each one is different."
He then stressed that parents should love their children without conditions. "A child is a child: a life created by us but destined for Him," explained the pope.
Some couples, he shared, choose not to have children and extend their love to pets instead. These couples maintain a "culture of wellbeing" and manage to go on several holidays, or even buy a country house. But he said that without children, they face the "bitterness of loneliness."
"The joy of children makes their parents' hearts throb and reopens the future," he said. "Children are not a problem of reproductive biology, or one of many ways to realise oneself in life. Let alone their parent's possession. Children are a gift. Do you understand? Children are a gift."
His statements about the joy of having children might spur controversy again, since Italy has seen a steady drop in its birth rate for decades. Just last week, Pope Francis raised eyebrows after he said that it was acceptable to smack a child in order to discipline them, although the child's dignity should not be lost in the process.
