VATICAN CITY -- Children are a blessing, not a burden, and are a sign of the confident hope of a couple and of society, Pope Francis said.
"If a family that has been generous in having children is looked upon as a burden, something's wrong," he said Feb. 11 at his weekly general audience.
"The generation of children must be responsible," as Blessed Paul VI wrote in his encyclical "Humanae Vitae," the pope said. "But having more children cannot be looked upon automatically as an irresponsible choice. What is more, not having children is a selfish choice."