Addressing the faithful on Wednesday, he said: "A society with a greedy generation, that doesn't want to surround itself with children, that considers them above all worrisome, a weight, a risk, is a depressed society.
"The choice to not have children is selfish. Life rejuvenates and acquires energy when it multiplies: It is enriched, not impoverished."
According to Guardian, Francis recalled a childhood memory, when his mother was asked which of her five children was her favourite. "She would say, I have five children like I have five fingers. If they beat one of my fingers, all five hurt. All of my children are mine, but each one is different.
"You love your child because he is a child, not because he is beautiful, healthy, and good; not because he thinks like me, or embodies my desires. A child is a child: a life created by us but destined for him."
Last year, the Pontiff warned against the lure of a "culture of wellbeing" that he claimed can happen when a couple is childless and has the money and freedom to take nice holidays and buy a second home in the countryside.
"It might be better, more comfortable; to have a dog, two cats, and the love goes to the two cats and the dog. Is this true or is this not? Have you seen it? Then, in the end, this marriage comes to old age in solitude, with the bitterness of loneliness.
"The joy of children makes their parents hearts throb and reopens the future. Children are not a problem of reproductive biology, or one of many ways to realize oneself in life. Let alone their parent's possession. Children are a gift. Do you understand? Children are a gift"
Last week, the pontiff said that hitting a child was an acceptable form of discipline, although it was important to maintain their 'dignity' in the process.
The Vatican later said the pope would never endorse violence or cruelty against a child.
