John Calvin Errickson II
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Dear John,
The questions you ask are complex. I tried to address some of them in an essay Have We Filled the Earth? I cannot argue with your underlying premise that if there were no children born, then eventually no one would be living in squalid conditions - or facing any of the sufferings which are part of this life. I worked seven years in one of the poorest areas of Peru. Not once did I hear someone say they wished they had never been born altho unfortunately children here do sometimes say that. Most of the young people I knew in Peru embraced the challenge of their lives and made real progress materially, educationally, spiritually, etc.
God bless,
Fr. Phil Bloom
P.S. I have never insisted that "people live like rats and eat garbage" - nor have I known anyone in the Catholic Church to desire that. Just the opposite, most are anxious to show some practical solidarity with those who have less.