Pope Francis Slams Couples Who Choose Not To Have Children

Pope Francis may not want Roman Catholic church members breeding like rabbits, but at the same time he's not happy with couples who choose not to have children at all. The pope was recently quoted to have said that couples who refuse to have children are selfish.

Pope Francis  caused quite a stir after he  branded such couples who choose not to have children as part of a 'greedy generation.' He made the remarks in front of a large crowd during his weekly general audience in St Peter's Square, Rome.'

Pope Francis Warns Catholics To Stop Breeding Like Rabbits

Pope Francis appears to be inadvertently advocating for birth control for Roman Catholics, who often say they do not believe in family planning. The pope argues that not using artificial contraception methods is no excuse to have uncountable number of children. He insists that Catholics may have a moral responsibility to limit the number of their children.

The infallible leader of the Roman Catholic church made this statement, according to The National Catholic Reporter, while traveling from the Philippines to Rome with reporters. Pope Francis shared the story of a woman he recently met who had given birth to seven children via Cesareans section and was expecting another child.

Pope Francis Says Moms Can Breastfeed In Sistine Chapel During Baptism - And In Public Too

At an annual baptism event at the Sistine Chapel on Sunday, Pope Francis urged the mothers present to breastfeed their babies "without thinking twice" as the children "are the most important people here."

His brief sermon was focused on the 32 infants he was baptizing, and the pope echoed the sentiments of Jesus about children. This is not the first time that Pope Francis would be speaking on this issue. Last month in an Italian newspaper, he chided moms not be embarrassed about breastfeeding their babies in public, using a personal story about a mom and her hungry newborn.

Pope Francis Says Animals Go To Heaven Too - True Or False

Over the past couple of days, Pope Francis has again become the focus of the religious conservatives after saying animals also go to heaven. The last time Pope Francis made another of such controversial statements, it turned out to be a hoax! So I was a little less quick to believe this story on face value. However, it turns out to be true.

The 77 year old pope is reported to have stated this during his weekly address in the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square. He claimed that dogs, along with “all of God’s creatures,” can make it to heaven.
The pope's remarks were made in order to comfort a young boy who was mourning the death of his dog.

Pope Francis Holds Wedding For Couples Who Lived Together Before Marriage, Have Children

Pope Francis has today officiated the wedding of 20 couples at the Vatican, including several couples who had lived together before marriage, or had children out of wedlock.

According to BBC News, one of the couples included in the marriage solemnization ceremony was a man whose previous marriage was annulled getting married to a single mother who had a daughter from a previous relationship.

During the two-hour ceremony, Pope Francis told the couples that marriage was "not an easy road, it's sometimes a contentious trip, but that's life."

He said in his homily that families are "bricks that build society", but also believes that the church should forgive those who have sex outside marriage or who don't obey church teaching to the letter.

Pope Francis Loses Nephew's Wife And Their Two Children In Argentina Car Crash

Two young great-nephews of Pope Francis and their mother, the wife of the pope's nephew have been killed in a road accident in Argentina, the Vatican said Tuesday.

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said the accident occurred Tuesday morning in the area of Cordoba, a major Argentine city. One nephew was 2, the other was 8 months. The age of their mother wasn't immediately available.

Lombardi said the nephew, Emanuel Bergoglio, a nephew of the Pope, his wife, Valeria Carmona, and two young children, Jose and Antonio, were travelling in a small car when it slammed into the back of a truck carrying grains, shortly after midnight.

Pope Francis Shares His Top 10 Secrets To Happiness

"Live and let live" is number one of the top 10 tips for having more joy as issued by Pope Francis as part of his recipe for a happy, more fulfilled life.

The Pope drew on his personal experiences to come up with his own lifestyle guide with a humble, non-materialistic ethos while speaking in an interview published in the Argentine weekly “Viva”.

The highlights include a call to families to “turn off the TV when they sit down to eat", and to focus less on preaching, and more on living by example. The Pope believes that the church grows “by attraction, not proselytising”.

Read below for Pope Francis’s secrets to happiness

Pope Francis Surprises Vatican Employees by Joining Them for Lunch In The Cafeteria

Pope Francis today showed again how much a pope of the people he is when he joined Vatican employees for lunch in the cafetaria. He even stood in line and served himself!

Just yesterday, the Pope met with Meriam Ibrahim and her family whom he thanked for "their courageous demonstration of constancy of faith" [see pics].

I wish more leaders had the down to earth spirit of the Pope. He shows everyday that he is just a man, and lives and teaches by example. This is true humility.

Meriam Ibrahim Arrives Italy To Meet The Pope Who Praises Her Courage and Steadfast Faith

Meriam Ibrahim, who was released from a death sentence for renouncing Islam by the Sudanese Supreme Court, is in Italy and has met with Pope Francis.

On arrival, the 27-year-old and her family were received at the pope’s guesthouse for about 30 minutes. According to a statement released by the Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi;

“The pope thanked Meriam and her family for their courageous demonstration of constancy of faith. Meriam gave thanks for the great support and comfort which she received from the prayers of the pope and of many other people who believe and are of good will.”

“With this gesture the pope wished also to show his closeness, attention and prayer for all those who suffer because of their faith and in particular Christians who suffer persecution or restriction to their freedom of religion.”

Pope Francis Asks Forgiveness For The Sins of Child Sexual Abuse in the Church - Full Text

Pope Francis today celebrated a strictly private mass with six adults – German, Irish and British – who were sexually abused by priests as children and he apologized to them and to all who faced the same abuse.

The homily he said at the mass was the first complete text dedicated by any Pope to "the crime and grave sin" of child sexual abuse that had rocked the Roman Catholic Church and its clerics.

The Pope also apologised for the sins of omission on the part of Church leaders. At the end of the mass, Francis spent over three hours with the victims, holding a series of private interviews with each one individually.

Read the text of the Pope's homily below. Some are calling it a PR Stunt, but I find it very heartfelt and I believe victims will be moved to forgiveness and healing. 

Pope Francis Excommunicates Italian Mafia Members in a Public Mass

Pope Francis has outrightly challenged the Italian Mafia members, saying that they are excommunicated from the Catholic Church. This is the first time a Pope has spoken of excommunication for the Mafia. The Pope spoke during an outdoor Mass with a crowd of over 100,000 in Calabria, Italy on Saturday.

"Those who in their life have gone along the evil ways, as in the case of the mafia, they are not with God, they are excommunicated. They must be told, No!"

Earlier in his one-day visit, Pope Francis had "met with relatives of a 3-year-old boy, Nicola Campolongo, who was the victim of an alleged Mafia hit in January. Nicknamed Coco, the boy was with his grandfather when they were both shot and their bodies subsequently burned in a car."

26 Women Having Affairs With Catholic Priests Ask Pope To Remove Celibacy Vow

Twenty-six women in love with Roman Catholic priests have written to Pope Francis begging him to remove the Catholic clergy's vow of celibacy. Most of them are Italian and all of them claim to be in a relationship with a priest.  The women say they are just “a small sample” but add that they are writing on behalf of many other women who are “living in silence.”

Pope Francis Calls For Love and No Condemnation For Divorced Couples

Pope Francis has said today that couples whose marriages have failed should be "accompanied" and not "condemned". He said this while responding to queries on his views on divorce and how the Roman Catholic church should treat divorced couples. Today, during the daily mass he holds in the Vatican, he said specifically on the subject of divorced couples,

Pope Francis Says "Who am I to Judge" Gays?

The comments made by Pope Francis about gay people reminded me of one of the questions I answered in a recent interview. In reply to a question about the bill signed by the Nigerian house of assembly making homosexuality illegal, I said it was about "a few influential people using their positions to try to force the rest of us to do what they like."

The New Pope Francis had a Childhood Love

Some priests are born, and some are made, some fall in between. The new Pope Francis seems to be in the latter categories. As a young 12 year old, he had a crush on his class mate and sent her a love letter. Their puppy love became not so secret anymore when teachers discovered the note, and sent for the girl's parents. That girl is now 76 years old Amalia Damonte. She told newsmen,

...it was clear from the start that he was thinking about dedicating his life to God.

Damonte especially remembers a handwritten letter he left for her, because it got her into a lot of trouble at the time.

"I remember perfectly that he had drawn me a little white house, which had a red roof, and it said "this is what I'll buy when we marry."

She said he also told her "If I don't marry you, I'm going to be a priest."

"These were childish things, nothing more," she said.

So sweeet, reminds me of this short story - the secret love letter :)