# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/21 "2015-02-12T13:28:53Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > 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. Why not both? ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/22 "2015-02-12T14:20:45Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > Every organized religion says in one way or another, women’s place in society is to produce children. …except the Shakers. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/23 "2015-02-12T15:07:29Z")
Some kid wrote: _In the middle ages the Pope had very great sexual powers._ ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/24 "2015-02-12T15:08:03Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > 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. That would be pretty cool. Just go down to the hatchery and pick one out of the decanting bottles. It would be a whole new world - not selfish, but brave! ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/25 "2015-02-12T15:14:02Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > Has a Pope ever had children? [“No, not wives, but why not children?”](http://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/westn/julius.html) ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/26 "2015-02-12T15:58:30Z")
Good thing I’m an atheist who was raised Protestant. Either way, I don’t give a rat’s posterior what the Pope has to say. Tim Minchin’s [Pope Song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtgmKRp5Nlg)covers my thoughts on da Pope. ( **Very NSFW!!!** ) ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/27 "2015-02-12T16:03:32Z")
Remember the quote, “He no playa the game–he no maka the rules.” ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/28 "2015-02-12T16:16:06Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > News Report: OMG did you hear, Catholic Leader advocates folowing Catholic doctrines. Film at eleven. Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![NurseBernard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecae2f/32.png) [@NurseBernard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseBernard)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/29 "2015-02-12T17:52:39Z")
I know somebody whose grandfather is a Catholic Priest - and still is. He married the woman in question - whom he met while she was married. She divorced husband No. 1 (obviously), and re-married the priest - who had given up his role as an RC and moved onto Anglicanism. They later divorced, too. The anglican priest was then accepted back to the fold as an RC Priest. …I can’t figure out how this could have been accepted, but it was, only 50 odd years ago. - No need to go back to Pope Alexander VI and the Borgia. I wish I could have been a fly of the wall and found out how he got away with it ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/30 "2015-02-12T19:33:58Z")
My choice not to have children was not selfish. I did it for the sake of my future non-existent children. ---
**Author:** ![racepug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@racepug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racepug)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/31 "2015-02-12T19:34:02Z")
That’s too bad. I’ve generally liked what this Pope has had to say (on a variety of topics) up to this point. Personally I’ve never quite understood that point-of-view. I guess in some senses I can see it: not wanting to put up with the trials of raising kids while others (COUNTLESS others) do. More importantly, to some: not wanting to create a new life. But I prefer an alternative view which states: “By not having children I’m not adding to the resource consumption of the planet by humans.” You can probably guess whether or not I have kids. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/32 "2015-02-12T20:03:04Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > Some kid wrote: > _In the middle ages the Pope had very great sexual powers._ He must have been up to something to get all those Vatican guards to wear those outfits. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/33 "2015-02-12T20:13:38Z")
Can someone please provide a link to the actual quote, in context? ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/34 "2015-02-12T20:25:03Z")
> [@NurseBernard](#): > > I know somebody whose grandfather is a Catholic Priest - and still is. > > He married the woman in question - whom he met while she was married. She divorced husband No. 1 (obviously), and re-married the priest - who had given up his role as an RC and moved onto Anglicanism. They later divorced, too. The anglican priest was then accepted back to the fold as an RC Priest. > > …I can’t figure out how this could have been accepted, but it was, only 50 odd years ago. - No need to go back to Pope Alexander VI and the Borgia. > > I wish I could have been a fly of the wall and found out how he got away with it I say this with a certain amount of affection for the RC church (I’m a CEO Catholic these days) - it’s all about forgiveness. It’s actually pretty hard to become ‘not a priest’. The marriage and divorce isn’t a problem - if she didn’t get an anulment, there was no marriage there in the first place (plus - as a priest, I don’t think he would be considered married any way - just in a state of serious sin). He just needed to sincerely repent of his sins, and he’s good to go. Even 50 years ago there weren’t so many priests that they’d throw one out who was willing go come back. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/35 "2015-02-12T20:31:13Z")
> [@Rikk001](#): > > This goes back to the old saying in the Bible of ‘be fruitful and multiply’, . . . . I thought the whole saying was ‘be fruitful and multipy and fill the earth.’ It’s full. > [@Flywheel](#): > > …except the Shakers. Yeah, they used to take in orphans to raise and some of them would stay with the groups. Now they’re down to one group and unless something’s happened recently, they’re getting kind of old. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/36 "2015-02-12T20:49:29Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > I say this with a certain amount of affection for the RC church (I’m a CEO Catholic these days) - it’s all about forgiveness. > > It’s actually pretty hard to become ‘not a priest’. The marriage and divorce isn’t a problem - if she didn’t get an anulment, there was no marriage there in the first place (plus - as a priest, I don’t think he would be considered married any way - just in a state of serious sin). > > He just needed to sincerely repent of his sins, and he’s good to go. Even 50 years ago there weren’t so many priests that they’d throw one out who was willing go come back. Hey, there are Catholic priests who are married right now. A priest at my wife’s church is married - Ukranian rite. It was somewhat ‘under the table’ prior to last year to have married Catholic priests in Canada, but is now fully ‘Vatican-approved’: > **[Vatican lifts ban on married priests for Eastern Catholics in diaspora](https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/vatican-lifts-ban-married-priests-eastern-catholics-diaspora)** > > The Vatican lifted its ban on the ordination of married men to the priesthood in Eastern Catholic churches outside their traditional territories, including the U.S., Canada and Australia. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/37 "2015-02-12T21:16:35Z")
I’ve seen stories about how the RCC is so desperate for priests that they accept still-married converted Anglican/Episcopalian priests into their ranks. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/38 "2015-02-12T21:22:15Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > 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. What does this even mean? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/39 "2015-02-12T21:27:52Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > I say this with a certain amount of affection for the RC church (I’m a CEO Catholic these days) I’d have thought the Pope was by definition the only CEO Catholic. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449/40 "2015-02-12T21:35:37Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > My choice not to have children was not selfish. I did it for the sake of my future non-existent children. Great answer - one of those funny-because-it’s-true statements. Being a parent is a shitload of work, and anyone who doesn’t want kids would surely be a worse parent than those of us who wanted them - quite possibly a downright resentful and terrible parent. So if you don’t want to be a parent, I’m on the side of society fully supporting you in that choice. I’m totally good with my tax dollars paying for your contraceptives. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-says-not-having-children-is-selfish/712449.md?page=3)