Pope Francis 'urges Catholics not have more children than you can bring up properly'
Peter Raven discusses Pope's comments as panellist at Vatican-run workshop on 'how to save the natural world'
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 urges families not to have too many children in a bid to tackle global population growth, it has been claimed.
The botanist and regular Vatican academy member Peter Raven revealed what he believed to be the Pope's teachings during a Vatican-run workshop on “how to save the natural world”
According to LifeSiteNews, Mr Raven told a press conference: "We need at some point to have a limited number of people [in the world].
"[That] is why Pope Francis and his three most recent predecessors have always argued that you should not have more children than you can bring up properly."
"In the framework of social justice worldwide we need to find ways for natural resources to be distributed on the basis of compassion and love," he added.
"We hope for support in our on-going support for our endeavour to develop sustainability."
The Catholic Church does not endorse any artificial birth control methods but Pope Francis has previously said avoiding pregnancy is not an “absolute evil”.
Update: This article was amended on 6 March 2017 after LifeSiteNews said it had reviewed a recording of Mr Raven's quotes, and updated its report accordingly
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments