Pope Francis insists Catholics do not need to breed 'like rabbits' and criticises woman for 'tempting God' with eighth pregnancy
The Pontiff said 'responsible parenthood' requires couples to regulate the birth of their children
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Pope Francis has insisted Catholics do not need to breed “like rabbits” and criticised a woman for “tempting God” by risking her life with an eighth pregnancy after delivering seven children by caesarean section.
Speaking to reporters as he travelled back to Rome from the Philippines, Francis said there are plenty of church-approved ways to regulate births.
On the trip, he gave his strongest defence yet of the 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae, which enshrined the church's opposition to artificial birth control.
On the plane, the Pope insisted that being a good Catholic did not involve breeding “like rabbits”, arguing that "responsible parenthood" requires that couples regulate the births of their children, as church teaching allows.
The Catholic Church upholds a strict ban on contraception. Instead, it advocates that women monitor their menstruation cycle to avoid intercourse when she is ovulating.
Francis cited the case of a woman who was pregnant with her eighth child after seven caesarean sections, saying that is “an irresponsibility.”
According to the National Catholic Reporter, he said: “This is to tempt God”. He also asked: "Does she want to leave the seven orphans?"
"God gives you methods to be responsible," he continued. "Some think that - excuse the word - that in order to be good Catholics we have to be like rabbits. No. Parenthood is about being responsible. This is clear."
But he said most importantly, no outside institution should impose its views on regulating family size, blasting what he called the "ideological colonisation" of the developing world.
African bishops, in particular, have long complained about how progressive, Western ideas about birth control and gay rights are increasingly being imposed on the developing world by groups, institutions or individual nations, often as a condition for development aid.
Francis said “every people” should be able to conserve its identity without being “ideologically colonised.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments