Pope Francis, life coach: At a mass on Monday attended by 15 long-married couples (25 to 60 years), the pope talked a lot about love and Jesus and perseverance and marriage, but he also dropped this warning about ignoring "fruitfulness," according to Vatican Radio:
These marriages, in which the spouses do not want children, in which the spouses want to remain without fertility. This culture of well-being from 10 years ago convinced us: It’s better not to have children! It’s better! You can go explore the world, go on holiday, you can have a villa in the countryside, you can be carefree... it might be better — more comfortable — to have a dog, two cats, and the love goes to the two cats and the dog. Is this true or is this not? Have you seen it? Then, in the end this marriage comes to old age in solitude, with the bitterness of loneliness. [Pope Francis, via Vatican Radio]
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
5 cleverly clashing cartoons about the presidential debateCartoons Artists take on a deepfake debate, winners and losers, and more
-
The Pélicot case: a horror exposedTalking Point This case is unusually horrifying, but the misogyny that enabled is chillingly common
-
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: pure 'nostalgia bait'Talking Point Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder return for sequel to the 1988 cult classic
-
The Vatican's stand on gender-affirming careSpeed Read A new published document condemns gender transition, calling it a threat to human dignity
-
The United Methodist Church has lost 20% of U.S. congregations in schism over LGBTQ rulesSpeed Read
-
Pope Francis investigates Texas bishop, accepts early resignation of embattled Tennessee prelateSpeed Read
-
Southern Baptists expel Saddleback, 2nd church over female pastors, approve further clampdownSpeed Read
-
Thousands flock to Missouri to see body of nun who died in 2019Speed Read
-
Report finds nearly 2,000 kids abused by Catholic clergy in Illinois over decadesSpeed Read
-
Pope Francis is involved in 'mission' to bring peace to UkraineSpeed Read
-
Jewish-Muslim tensions boil over in JerusalemSpeed Read
