This past week, Pope Francis made a commotion when he chided childless couples for choosing not to make a family. According to The Guardian, Francis said this while addressing his general audience while in St. Peter's Square.

The Irish Times reports that Francis' address was focused primarily on the joy of children and their role in society. The pope began by recalling a childhood memory, when his mother was asked which of her five children she loved the most. He stated, "She would say, 'I have five children like I have five fingers. If they beat one of my fingers, all five hurt. All of my children are mine, but each one is different...

You love your child because he is a child, not because he is beautiful, healthy, and good; not because he thinks like me, or embodies my desires. A child is a child: a life created by us but destined for him."

Pope Francis then went on to say, "A society with a greedy generation, that doesn't want to surround itself with children, that considers them above all worrisome, a weight, a risk, is a depressed society... The choice to not have children is selfish. Life rejuvenates and acquires energy when it multiplies: It is enriched, not impoverished."

In the summer of 2014, Francis said something similar in a homily.  According to Catholic News, he blamed a "culture of comfort" for producing intentionally childless marriages. He stated that such a culture has convinced us that "it's better to not have children! It's better. That way you can see the world, be on vacation, you can have a fancy home in the country, you'll be carefree."

He continued, "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 will end in old age in solitude, with the bitterness of bad solitude...

 The joy of children makes their parents hearts throb and reopens the future. Children are not a problem of reproductive biology, or one of many ways to realize oneself in life. Let alone their parent's possession. Children are a gift. Do you understand? Children are a gift."

What are your thoughts on the topic?