# Pope Francis says not having children is selfish **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 12, 2015, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449 "2015-02-12T04:17:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/1 "2015-02-12T04:17:21Z")
> [@](#): > > “Not to have children is a selfish choice,” he said. Pot:kettle. Where are your children, your Holiness?😛 ---
**Author:** ![Hockeyshrink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4491bb/32.png) [@Hockeyshrink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockeyshrink)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/2 "2015-02-12T04:21:09Z")
He can call me whatever he wants; I’m still not having children. ---
**Author:** ![Marlonius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Marlonius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlonius)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/3 "2015-02-12T04:33:49Z")
Of course, having children is also selfish, so we’ve got that going for us. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/4 "2015-02-12T04:53:47Z")
Has a Pope ever had children? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/5 "2015-02-12T04:55:39Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > Has a Pope ever had children? Some of the priests have. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/6 "2015-02-12T05:04:26Z")
One one hand, he has a point, especially given the nature of our social safety nets, but on the other, Paul said, “It is better not to marry”. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/7 "2015-02-12T05:05:54Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > Has a Pope ever had children? [Yep](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sexually_active_popes). Popes must have been a lot less selfish back in the days of the Borgias. I also love that there is a wikipedia page entitled “List of Sexually Active Popes.” ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/8 "2015-02-12T05:08:41Z")
Not having kids is selfish. Having kids is selfish. But you know what is apparently the very most selfish thing of all? Having only one. Or so I’ve been told a number of times. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/9 "2015-02-12T05:08:50Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > Has a Pope ever had children? Quite a few of them, back in the day…some even legitimately. In fact, there were once father/son popes: Pope Hormisdas (514-523) and Pope Silverius (536-537). [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List\_of\_sexually\_active\_popes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sexually_active_popes) Grrr…I really should preview more thoroughly… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/10 "2015-02-12T05:21:07Z")
Selfish how? And doesn’t that make the priesthood and sisterhood the most selfish organizations in the Western world by that logic? I disagree. ---
**Author:** ![Rikk001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e47774/32.png) [@Rikk001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rikk001)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/11 "2015-02-12T06:39:01Z")
This goes back to the old saying in the Bible of ‘be fruitful and multiply’, which considering the global population of the time, was a good way to increase the ‘faithful’. However, the population was measured in the millions, and now it’s in the hundreds of billions, so I kind of suspect that people have been ‘fruitful’ enough, especially since due to such gross over population, the globe has started running low on resources, pollution is rampant, and the inevitable over crowding has played a huge role in the many wars we’ve had. Not everything in the Bible should be taken as flat fact. Times change. Plus the Bible has been heavily edited and translated many times, with errors being made along the way. ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/12 "2015-02-12T06:39:23Z")
Oh, but if you try to do the right thing and have them (but need IVF to do so) Pope Francis further believes you’re committing an [almighty sin](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/the-pope/11233347/Pope-Francis-denounces-euthanasia-as-sin-against-God.html). Glad I’m not Catholic so I don’t have to be dealing with a Sophie’s Choice level of guilt! ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/13 "2015-02-12T07:07:26Z")
Eh. Every organized religion says in one way or another, women’s place in society is to produce children. Pope’s just making sure his constituents know what’s expected of them. It was some time ago when I researched a bunch of different organized religions of the type that have houses of worship in some form or other. All of them, christian and otherwise, indicated their women were expected to reproduce. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/14 "2015-02-12T07:23:21Z")
He might be speaking for the priests who don’t want a choirboy shortage. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/15 "2015-02-12T08:00:25Z")
I’m willing to bet Pope Francis has not schedule-fucked a partner for the 100th time because the thermometer says go!, in an attempt to have a baby. I bet he hasn’t done it for \>10 years and sunk \>100,000 bucks into reproductive therapy to no avail. I’m willing to bet he’s a big-mouthed asshole. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/16 "2015-02-12T08:08:28Z")
Of course, I think this is still the same Pope who just recently told the faithful not to breed like rabbits. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/17 "2015-02-12T11:58:11Z")
> [@Rikk001](#): > > However, the population was measured in the millions, and now it’s in the hundreds of billions, so … Not _hundreds of billions_ more like seven billion. Still though…,. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/18 "2015-02-12T12:15:35Z")
News Report: OMG did you hear, Catholic Leader advocates folowing Catholic doctrines. Film at eleven. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21825_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/19 "2015-02-12T12:36:02Z")
Seems to me if you’re “selfish” enough not to want kids, then you’d make a pretty crappy parent anyway. Way back when “test tube babies” was new in the news, my sister’s friend was all excited! She figured she could finally have a baby without getting “fat.” She figured they’d just grow her a baby in a lab and give it to her when it was done. I’m not sure if that was selfish or just terrifyingly stupid and shallow. I do sincerely hope she never did reproduce. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/20 "2015-02-12T13:14:41Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > Has a Pope ever had children? None that he knows about. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449.md?page=2)