NZ Catholic: Catholic family group calls family-size-limit proposal ‘almost laughable’

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (NZ Catholic) – A director of a Catholic family group has called a proposal to limit families to two children "almost laughable."

The suggestion, from Sustainable Wellington Net, was one of several from “green” groups that want to ensure natural resources are used responsibly.

Lynn Hill, co-director of the Passionist Family Group Movement in the North Island, said it would be sad for parents to lose the right to decide how many children they have.

"Mothers and fathers of large families, or those who have grown up in large families, know it is a very rich way of life," Hill told NZ Catholic.

She said New Zealand is not short of resources and suggested large families recognize the need to protect the earth.

"Families are not the ones raping the environment; that's much more likely to be done by businesses," Hill said.

Mike Ennis of Sustainable Wellington Net told The Press that the suggestion was serious and said family size "makes a dramatic difference in Western countries with the differential use of resources per capita".

"It's about the ecological footprint of a family," Ennis told the Christchurch newspaper.

Act Party MP Heather Roy, a mother of five, wondered if the "deep greens" of the group would like to tell her which three children she should "put back."

Republished by Catholic Online with permission of NZ Catholic, New Zealand’s national Catholic newspaper, a Catholic Online Preferred Publishing Partner.

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