Did the Pope Francis and His Lover Sacrifice a Baby?

Far from beingness mere off-hand remarks, the Pope's contempo comments about children and pets touch on some of the deepest themes of his papacy.

Pope Francis' contempo comments on pets and children take caused quite a stir. Some have found it ironic that the celibate pope named after the patron saint of pets (Francis of Assisi) should accept such a difficult line on the field of study. If y'all missed it, the Pope recently lamented, "Many, many couples exercise non take children considering they practice not want to, or they take merely one – but they accept two dogs, two cats… Yes, dogs and cats take the place of children. Yes, it's funny, I understand, merely it is the reality." For some these were welcome words, but for others, the comments seem out of touch, even hypocritical.

Then how do we brand sense of what Pope Francis said? Is the Pope mocking pet owners? Is he insisting every couple have children?

1 Not the first time

Pope Francis has spoken nearly pets and children several times during his pontificate. In fact, in 2014, the internet saw nigh the exact same controversy we're seeing now. On June 2, Pope Francis preached a homily in the chapel at the Vatican guesthouse where he lives, proverb,

This civilisation of well-being from x years agone convinced u.s.a.: It's better not to have children! It's improve! You can go explore the earth, proceed holiday, you lot can have a villa in the countryside, you can be intendance-costless … it might be better — more comfortable — to have a dog, two cats, and the beloved goes to the ii cats and the domestic dog. Is this true or is this not? Have you seen it? Then, in the end this wedlock comes to erstwhile age in solitude, with the bitterness of loneliness. Information technology is not fruitful, it does not do what Jesus does with his Church: He makes His church building fruitful.

The Pope's remarks fabricated it to The Washington Postal service, Time Mag, and a host of other major news outlets.

2 Individualism and sacrifice

Despite the Pope's celibacy, a fact not lost on commentators, Pope Francis has repeatedly highlighted the sacrifice required of couples to take children. In fact, in a recent letter of the alphabet to married couples, Pope Francis frankly concedes, "To be certain, raising children is no easy task."

The enemy of self-sacrifice is individualism. Pope Francis has diagnosed this vice of our age saying, "Men and women of our postmodern world run the risk of rampant individualism, and many problems of society are connected with today's self-centered culture of instant gratification. We meet this in the crisis of family and social ties and the difficulties of recognizing the other."

For Pope Francis, individualism diminishes our humanity. To exist man means to live among others, loving and giving. As Pope Francis says, "It is a risk, yep: having a kid is always a chance, either naturally or by adoption. Just it is riskier not to have them." To avert motherhood or fatherhood for superficial reasons, for the Pope, is individualist and self-seeking.

3 Materialism and consumerism

Closely linked to this vice of individualism, Pope Francis has repeatedly decried the materialism and consumerism of the modernistic world. During a contempo trip to Greece, Pope Francis invoked Homer'due south Odyssey to denounce the prevailing spirit of consumerism. The Pope told a group of young people, "Today's sirens desire to amuse you with seductive and insistent letters that focus on easy gains, the false needs of consumerism, the cult of physical health, of entertainment at all costs," he said. "All these are similar fireworks: they flare up for a moment, but then turn to smoke in the air."

Materialism plays into humanity's desire for comfort. But as Pope Francis insists, "When we are healthy and comfortable, we forget about others (something God the Male parent never does): nosotros are unconcerned with their problems, their sufferings and the injustices they endure… Our eye grows cold." For Pope Francis, to embrace maternity or fatherhood is to warm the center, to remember of others and their needs.

4 Sustainability and population growth

Some environmentalists insist that the earth's birth rates ought to pass up, for the sake of global sustainability. However, Pope Francis writes in Laudato Si, "Instead of resolving the problems of the poor and thinking of how the world can be different, some can only propose a reduction in the nascency rate. At times, developing countries face forms of international pressure which make economical aid contingent on certain policies of 'reproductive health.'"

The Pope quipped in his remarks about Italy'due south ensuing demographic wintertime, "Our homeland suffers, every bit information technology does not have children, and, as it has been said somewhat humorously, 'and now who will pay the taxes for my pension, if there are no children?' — with laughter, but information technology is the truth. Who will accept care of me?"  Pope Francis has repeatedly noted the dangers of Italia's (and Western Europe's) low fertility rates.

v Welcoming life

For Pope Francis, every child is a souvenir from God. He writes in Amoris Laetitia, "The souvenir of a new child, entrusted by the Lord to a male parent and a female parent, begins with acceptance, continues with lifelong protection and has as its final goal the joy of eternal life. Past serenely contemplating the ultimate fulfillment of each human person, parents will be even more aware of the precious souvenir entrusted to them." For some, the difficult truth is that for Pope Francis human beings have a significance and value that animals do not. In this sense, pets are not equal to children.

All the same, the Pope acknowledges that not every couple is able to have children, or fifty-fifty to have a big family unit. He says, "Saint John Paul Two rightly explained that responsible parenthood does not mean 'unlimited procreation or lack of awareness of what is involved in rearing children.'"

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Did the Pope Francis and His Lover Sacrifice a Baby?

Source: https://aleteia.org/2022/01/07/decoding-pope-francis-comments-about-pets-and-children/

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