Pope Francis: Couples Who Choose Not to Have Children 'Selfish'

Pope Francis spoke out this week regarding the Catholic doctrine on pro-creation, saying that it is "selfish" for couples to choose not to have children.

Francis made his comments in a recorded address from St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. The pope told the thousands gathered that "life rejuvenates and acquires energy when it multiplies."

"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 pope said. "The choice to not have children is selfish. Life rejuvenates and acquires energy when it multiplies: It is enriched, not impoverished."

As The Guardian reports, Francis' comments may prove to be especially controversial in Italy, where the country has seen a declining birthrate for the past several years.

Francis' comments come after the pontiff said that Catholic married couples can practice "responsible parenthood," saying they don't have to "breed like rabbits" to be good Catholics.

"Some think, excuse me if I use the word, that in order to be good Catholics, we have to be like rabbits - but no," the pontiff said during a flight from the Philippines to Rome in January.

Francis clarified that there is a difference between practicing "responsible parenthood" and refusing to have"openness to life."

"I believe that openness to life conditions the sacrament of matrimony. A man cannot give the sacrament to the woman, and the woman give it to him, if they are not in agreement on this point to be open to life," Pope Francis said.