On Monday, January 19, Pope Francis made a statement regarding the Church’s ban on contraceptives while on a flight from Rome to the Philippines. Pope Francis has made his position clear- when it comes to family planning, he’s all for it.

The Pope believes that although artificial contraception is prohibited for members of the Catholic Church, there are alternate solutions.

“Some think that in order to be good Catholics, we have to be like rabbits – but no.” said the Pope, according to RT News. He also added that ‘responsible parenting’ is the way to go. Although there is a birth control ban, it doesn’t mean excessive reproduction is obligatory. The Pope’s comments stirred outrage among many conservatives, who believe the Bible says that children are a gift from God, and the purpose of marriage is to have children naturally. They take the statement literally, which says ‘be fruitful and multiply’. This, obviously, can be misunderstood.

Obviously, no one should be told how many kids to have. That is a personal choice. However, if parents do not meet financial and emotional needs, they should have the maturity to make a responsible decision on whether or not to expand their brood. According to BBC News, the Pope still stands firm against artificial contraception. Instead, he believes there are ‘licit’ ways to go about the situation. He also cited the case of a woman who was pregnant with her eighth child, all via cesarean section. He apparently said she was tempting God, God gave us the means to be responsible, as well as his concern about her health.

The issue came about regarding the local church in the Philippines denying the appeal to make birth control more accessible. Among poor regions of the world, it is imperative that birth control should be available. People who want to use birth control should have the right and means to make their own choices regarding their family.

Also, lack of birth control often contributes to lack of education. Lack of education tends to breed ignorance. For many women in both first and third world countries, the unexpected birth of a child often hinders further education due to family obligations. In addition, birth control can lower the risk of exposure to many sexually transmitted diseases.

The Pope continues to make headlines regarding his new views and modern thinking. His latest statement was one more step in the right direction.