The More the Merrier

In section 10, titled "Responsible Parenthood", Pope Paul VI states: "From this it follows that they are not free to act as they choose in the service of transmitting life, as if it were wholly up to them to decide what is the right course to follow. On the contrary, they are bound to ensure that what they do corresponds to the will of God the Creator."
In this passage, Paul VI is stating that it is not solely the parents' authority to decide whether or not to have more children. The parents must take God's will into account when they make their decisions regarding having children. The pope expects parents to be "generous" when having kids, implying that if they are able to support another child, they do so. This passage claims that if parents have no desire to have more kids but there are no challenges that prevent them from being able to raise more kids, they have an obligation to have more.
This passage directly contradicts the 2 child-policy in China. In China, the strong central government has authority over deciding how many children a couple, whereas Paul VI believes that God should have that authority. This pits God versus the government, and in China the government will win. However, in countries with more freedom, the Pope's reasoning pits personal power versus God's power. The Pope attempts to take a lot of power away from a couple and give it to the Church. The Church will almost always encourage families to have more children when possible, so for strict followers of Catholic doctrine, it leaves them little choice. This is viewed as a negative consequence by most people today, as it takes away their right to choose how many kids they want. In Western countries, the choice of having children is viewed as a basic human right.
While the Pope says that families are encouraged to have kids only if "physical, economic, psychological and social conditions" are up to par, it still takes away a certain amount of choice from the family. This is inherently bad, because I very highly value personal freedom. Additionally, the policy of having as many kids as possible is not socially responsible, because there is already fear of over-population in the world. If everyone abided by the policy, it could prove catastrophic for the world because of the finite number of resources.
As we discussed in class, "the pill" has drastically altered society. It has changed the way we view family planning. It furthered belief in the power of the couple to decide their own family size; it gave us a greater sense of control. The view that Pope Paul offers directly contradicts this view, and is therefore not applicable in today's society except for staunch Christians. The policy of having as many kids as are economically viable is socially irresponsible and would have a very a negative effect if it was closely followed.