Pope Francis? “Rabbits?” Really?

First, to be fair to Pope Francis, I agree with the tenor of his comments on having children.  There are times when having more and more children is irresponsible, such as when taking care of one’s current kids is already problematic.  And I like rabbits myself.  In fact, I recently bought a dwarf rabbit as a pet for a neighbor and have fallen in love with the darn adorable thing myself.

But his referring to breeding like “rabbits” is offensive and too easily taken as a cut on large families.  My best friends have seven boys.  They are all like family to me, and they are a wonderful family with more brain power than many universities.  They and families like them deserve more courtesy than that from Pope Francis.

I think the Pope meant well.  But I agree with Father Z (in an earlier context) that it is time for someone to quietly suggest to the Holy Father that he dial back the off-the-cuff comments.