Pope Francis Says No Need to "Breed Like Rabbits"

On Monday, Pope Francis, Holy Father of Catholics said that because of the Vatican's ban on contraception, Catholics should not feel that they have to breed "like rabbits," suggesting followers use natural family planning methods that were approved by the Church.

The Pope, who was on the airplane heading to Rome from East Asia where he spent a week visiting Sri Lanka and the Philippines, gave an hour-long news conference during the flight, Reuters reported.

Pope Francis talked about the issue of birth control, which has been the subject of an ongoing debate in the Philippines because of a strong opposition from the local Catholic church to new legislation making contraceptives easily accessible.

"Some think, excuse me if I use the word, that in order to be good Catholics, we have to be like rabbits- but no," Francis said. He suggested "responsible parenthood" that is approved by the Church.

According to Reuters, Francis also shared the story of a woman he met recently, who had seven children by C-section already and jeopardized her life by giving birth again because it was in accordance with her religious beliefs. He called it irresponsible and told the reporters that he did not approve of the lady for "tempting God."

The Pope, who is the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and its 1.2 billion followers worldwide, then promoted practising natural family planning. He said there are "many ways that are allowed" by the church, after restating the ban on artificial birth control.

The natural family planning methods the Church approves and Francis referred to in his speech mainly consist of abstinence from sex during a woman's fertile period.

The debate on birth control has been an ongoing issue between the Church and many Catholics around the world that consider birth control and contraception a right, not a sin as the Church considers it to be.