I respect the Pope, even tho I am not Catholic.
However—I would politely point out to The Church that they have told their believers for centuries that they should produce “as many children as God will give them”.
God also provides ‘many children’ for feral cats, but we push for spay and neutering for our pets.
The poorest in the world, based upon my 70+++ years of life are primarily those who have continued to have children they cannot feed, or support in expected standards for their area.
Ordering ME or others to continue to support such behavior is wrong.
I don’t have a lot, but I certainly have more than many ‘poor’ people in the USA & certainly more than those in Africa & other areas where they live in huts & scrape to survive. I don’t live where Boko Haram is marauding, but I do live where the EPA interferes with too many things. I confess to not always being able to tell the difference between the 2 groups.
I digress....
I will fight against those who demand that I ‘give up my ‘wealth’ because there are so many poor people.
The factors are far more complex than that. In the USA, we have had over 50 years of ‘helping the poor’ under the label WELFARE.
It is now so out of hand with the give-aways & payments to welfare ‘poor’ people that they live better than I ever did.
I took my own PBJ sandwiches to school...even thru high school. I bought my first car with money I EARNED at a JOB. I was just shy of 18 y/o. I bought my first house at age 26 in 1966 with $5000 from my mother’s estate. I bought the only car I ever bought NEW a year prior to the purchase of the house. I drove that car for over 444,000 miles & sold it to a guy in Sweden who restored it. It still ran just fine & I sometimes wish I hadn’t sold it.
I own 2 vehicles now -—and one has over 204,000 miles & is almost 36 years old. The other has almost 350,000 miles on it & is 39 years old.
I still have 2 walnut lamps & a small table I have had since the late 50’s. I still have clothes & a cedar chest I bought in the late 60’s. Kitchen utensils, furniture, jewelry that I obtained in the same time period. A kitchen table & chairs I bought used that are older than I am. An oak desk that is almost 100 years old. 3 used file cabinets that are from the 50’s.
I am not going to roll over for declarations from the Pope or any politician that “I should give away my accumulation’ of items which I have taken good care of because someone else is ‘poorer’ than I.
I fully recognize that Donald Trump & Magic Johnson & Oprah & Bill Gates are far richer than I am. I have NEVER made such a demand on them to help ME. I NEVER would.
I also NEVER had a poor man sign my paycheck for my labor. I worked at many a job that was ‘out of the mainstream’ for a female, but I was able to keep my assets.
I—and ONLY I-— will determine where they go when I die.
It is outright theft to say that I have too much & someone else should obtain what I have acquired.
NO ONE is going to change my mind.
Sorry, your Holiness. You have to open your eyes about why there are so many POOR people.
BTW- I never had any kids.
Well said; you were responsible for yourself and made sure that you took care of all that was necessary for your life. Now, our “betters” come along and say they can do it better and take the fruits of your life by force. The Pope is tragically wrong and gives moral cover to those who will obtain power to “redistribute” wealth and profit in the exercise.