Just When I Think I Like the Pope, He Pulls this Shit

The BBQ Pit
1

I admit it. In my atheist heart, I actually like Pope Francis. I like his modest style, and what he had to say about the poor, and not being judgmental about others.

Now, he’s went and gone and done this.

Fuck you, you misogynistic scumbag, and fuck your ancient outdated beliefs.

You heard me. I’m a woman and I’m childfree. You got that? Not childless, I’m childFREE.
That means without kids and heartily glad to be so.

And yeah. I got cats, three of them. I’ve had thirteen of them over the years. And you know what? They are my CATS! I think of them as FAMILY! But I don’t think of them as my kids. I believe if you actually knew some pet lovers, you’d know that the vast majority of us KNOW THAT OUR PETS ARE NOT OUR CHILDREN. We know the fucking difference, okay? That goes for anyone else who rolls their eyes at pet owners who choose the word childfree. No, we are NOT saying our pets are equal to your children. Only someone with a screw loose would truly believe that.

And yeah, thinking that women should get busy and start having babies is an outdated misogynistic belief. It denies women the right to choose their own destiny. It denies women sovereignty over their own bodies. Men have NO fucking right to criticize women who decide to forego pregnancy. It’s an onerous, dangerous process. We women WILL decide whether to undergo the risks or not. It’s our bodies. Pro-choice all the way.

And what the hell, who gets upset over declining birthrates in this day and age of climate change??? For crying out loud, overpopulation is a major cause of our environmental problems. Declining birthrates are a GOOD thing! Whadaya want, a world with FIFTEEN BILLION PEOPLE??? Would that be enough people for you?? We should all be living packed together in shanty slums like in Brazil??? What’s wrong with you???

And for the love of what passes for god, DON’T be telling people to feel guilty about not having children!! Not everyone has what it takes to be a good parent. If someone doubts that they would be a good parent, they are PROBABLY RIGHT!! Nobody has any fucking business pushing someone into the idea of having children if they are lukewarm about it. Having children is a tremendous commitment. How many kids are suffering because their parent never really wanted to have a child? I’ll tell you, it’s a fucking big number.

Go back to focusing on helping the impoverished, Pope Francis. At least you seem to know something about that. You don’t know shit about having children.

2

If he wanted offspring to take care of him in his dotage he shouldn’t have joined a celibate priesthood.

3

I fully support this rant.

4

So, the head of the Catholic Church advocates having more children? Wow, what a surprise, never would have seen that coming.

5

Nothing to add but a yup of agreement with everything the OP said.

We have two cats and no kids. . Am I missing out on some joys of parenthood? Probably, but my wife’s chronic pain and fatigue would make trying to raise a kid a bad situation for everyone involved including the kid.

The Catholic church needs to recognize that quality of life is just as, if not more important, than quantity.

6

And others have pointed out that the saint from whom the pope took his name was famous for his love of animals.

7

The Catholic Church, when you absolutely positively feel the need for ill-considered, ignorant and hypocritical judgement from a bunch of paedophile-protecting, celibate bachelors based on a supernatural and unverifiable authority…accept no substitute.

8

You know, there’s a lot of selfish people in the world. People who don’t give a shit about others, don’t phone their parents, never help out their friends, don’t give to charity, cut people up at traffic lights, spit chewing gum on the floor, don’t wear a facemask in the supermarket, take credit for the work of others in the office, cheat on their taxes, people who HAVE KIDS AND CAN’T AFFORD THEM, ABUSE THEM, NEGLECT THEM AND SCAR THEM FOR LIFE.

But oh no, it’s people with PETS who are selfish.

9

But…but…the HUMANITY!

Maybe this is part of the Pope’s stealth plan for ending celibacy in the priesthood.

10

As one who has owned many dogs over the years but have had no kids, I support this rant and I decry the Pope’s remarks.

11

Head of Catholic Church preaches Catholic doctrine.

I’ve been saying this from the very start, people, the most whoever’s Pope at any given time will do is preach the doctrine and his opinions in a kinder, gentler style but it will still be the old teaching and sooner or later he will piss you off.

Which he’d also say, from where he’s sitting, is our problem not his.

So go ahead and nod in approval when he speaks about climate change or debt relief or labor rights or vaccination or otherwise endorses some socioeconomic policy you support …but… know that he will come out and say (or allow it to be said on behalf of the organization) that priesthood is for men, that sex is for marriage, that marriage is only for cisM/cisF and we all should have many babies, that it would be better if we were all Catholic, that misconduct of the clergy should be judged internally and not by secular courts, or that pets are not real family. And we’ll be pulling our hair out at it unable to do anything about it.

12

I’ve long had this nagging awareness that the economies of the world are dependent on sustained population growth, despite the myriad deleterious effects that implies.

And for many/most of the advanced economy nations at or below replacement growth levels, many things about those economies are in question.

So … maybe the ties between the RCC and the Corporatocracies of this world are closer and more direct than I thought. Maybe some of his ‘advisors --’ at the behest of some of the titans of industry – called on him “to do a service” for them (“The Godfather”).

Finite resources like property need more buyers and more dollars chasing them to sustain their rising values.

Ditto most stocks and most corporate balance sheets.

The amount of money at stake is virtually incomprehensible.

“Stop buying dogs and have some more kids” is a veritable annuity in so many ways …

13

So the worlds most famous by-choice virgin is throwing shade at others for not having children?

Heartily agree with OP.

14

Can we hear an amen? I decided forty years ago not to breed and somehow, do not feel selfish at all. Sorry (not sorry) for not conforming to your belief system, you old coot.

15

To play a little bit of devil’s advocate here, I kind of get the impression he’s mostly talking about people who have a pet who they treat as some kind of surrogate child, not mere people who have no children and who also happen to have pets. His 2014 remarks were along that line as well.

There IS a huge difference there, and I can see why the Pope might decry the first without necessarily having anything negative to say about the second. I mean, if you’re going to have a dog you treat like a virtual child (but without the actual responsibility), I can see why that might not be considered as an ideal situation by less progressive segments of society.

And as a parent, when I hear people talking about their “fur babies” or other cutesy names, I kind of roll my eyes. Pets aren’t children, and while not exactly insulting, it’s a bit absurd for these people to pretend like their pets are anywhere near on the same level as a child in terms of responsibility, capacity for love, etc…

That’s what I think Pope Francis is getting at more than anything. But @JRDelirious is right- expecting the Pope to do anything other than reiterate the Church’s doctrine is silly, and the Catholic Church is pretty child-centric (jokes aside) when it comes down to it.

16

Excellent rant. Two thumbs up. Fuck that guy.

17

If one of our dogs fell through the ice, I’d risk my own life to save her. If a human stranger fell through the ice simultaneously, I’d save my dog first, then attempt to save the human.

And yeah, fuck the pope,

18

What gets me is this assumption - that just because we can love our pets and choose not to have children, it doesn’t mean we think pets are the same as children. How many people ‘actually’ think that? Just because some people talk about ‘fur babies’, vanishingly few would actually ever say they’re the same thing.

I have a dog, I don’t have kids. It wasn’t a toss up between one or the other.

19

I’m not saying all pet owners feel that way. There’s nothing wrong with having pets or loving pets, but that’s all within reasonable boundaries.

But there is a set who at least from the outside, appear to be substituting pets for the children they chose not to have, and I think that’s what the Pope is speaking out against.

For example, is there not an ethical issue with spending the $$$ to feed your pets organic frou-frou food that is quite expensive, when there are actual, real live human children who don’t eat half as much or half as well within your own community? I mean, this place is a thing, and yet people can buy nutritionally adequate pet food for a LOT less money elsewhere. That seems damn near criminal to me, but I’m sure people will come out of the woodwork to defend it, because pets or something.

20

People buy second vacation homes and there are plenty of homeless that could use that second home. Is that damn near criminal?