Pope tells Catholics ‘you don’t have to breed like rabbits’, after Philippines visit

Pope Francis is firmly upholding church teaching banning contraception, but said following his visit to the Philippines that Catholics do not have to breed “like rabbits” and should instead practice “responsible parenting”.

Speaking to reporters en route home from a rapturous reception in the 80 per cent Catholic Philippines, Francis said there are plenty of church-approved ways to regulate births.

The Manila government of President Benigno Aquino defied years of church pressure by passing a bill in December 2012 requiring government health centres to distribute free condoms and contraceptive pills. Abortion is strictly illegal in the country, which has a population approaching 100 million, although rare exceptions are made if the health of the mother is at risk.

But the pope emphasised his opinion that no outside institution should impose its views on regulating family size, blasting what he called the “ideological colonisation” of the developing world.