Your point stands, but you didn’t quote the transcript, you quoted Jordan Liles’s summary of his Snopes article. This is the transcript:
Transcript (click to show/hide)
“[…] To bring a child into the world is not enough to say that one is also their father or mother. “Fathers are not born, but made. A man does not become a father simply by bringing a child into the world, but by taking up the responsibility to care for that child. Whenever a man accepts responsibility for the life of another, in some way he becomes a father to that person” (Apostolic Letter Patris corde ). I think particularly of all those who are open to welcoming life by way of adoption, which is such a generous and beautiful, good attitude. Joseph shows us that this type of bond is not secondary; it is not second best. This kind of choice is among the highest forms of love, and of fatherhood and motherhood. How many children in the world are waiting for someone to take care of them! And how many married couples want to be fathers and mothers but are unable to do so for biological reasons; or, although they already have children, they want to share their family’s affection with those who do not have it. We should not be afraid to choose the path of adoption, to take the “risk” of welcoming. And today, even with orphanhood, there is a certain selfishness. The other day, I spoke about the demographic winter that exists nowadays: people do not want to have children, or just one and no more. And many couples do not have children because they do not want to, or they have just one because they do not want any more, but they have two dogs, two cats…. Yes, dogs and cats take the place of children. Yes, it is funny, I understand, but it is the reality. And this denial of fatherhood or motherhood diminishes us, it takes away our humanity. And in this way civilization becomes more aged and without humanity, because it loses the richness of fatherhood and motherhood. And our homeland suffers as it does not have children, and, as someone said somewhat humorously, “and now that there are no children, who will pay the taxes for my pension? Who will take care of me?”. He laughed, but it is the truth. I ask of Saint Joseph the grace to awaken consciences and to think about this: about having children. Fatherhood and motherhood are the fullness of the life of a person. Think about this. It is true, there is the spiritual fatherhood of those who consecrate themselves to God, and spiritual motherhood; but those who live in the world and get married, have to think about having children, of giving life, because they will be the ones to shut their eyes, who will think about the future. And also, if you cannot have children, think about adoption. It is a risk, yes: having a child is always a risk, either naturally or by adoption. But it is riskier not to have them. It is riskier to deny fatherhood or to deny motherhood, be it real or spiritual. A man or a woman who do not voluntarily develop a sense of fatherhood or motherhood are lacking something fundamental, something important. Think about this, please. […]”
cite: https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/audiences/2022/documents/20220105-udienza-generale.html
Note that the Pope’s original words were in Italian and the above transcript is a translation, although an official one. The word translated as “a certain selfishness” was actually egoismo, which is the opposite of altruism, but I could not comment on whether the original Italian carries the same negative connotation. Maybe someone in the know can clear that up.
Your other beef is borne out by the transcript:
Fatherhood and motherhood are the fullness of the life of a person. […] A man or a woman who do not voluntarily develop a sense of fatherhood or motherhood are lacking something fundamental, something important.
In other words he’s saying if you don’t have children, or adopt them, or otherwise voluntarily develop a sense of parenthood (pets don’t count, pastorship does), you’re missing out on an important part of life. You find it reprehensible that he would make people feel bad for not having children, because the Pope of all people doesn’t have “any fucking business” telling people what is or isn’t important in life. Right?
~Max