Pope Francis called couples who adopt pets rather than children “selfish.”
The pope’s comments on Wednesday were addressed to a general audience regarding the topics of parenthood and ways to resolve the “demographic winter” of the West.
The West is facing a population decline, and people need to have children, according to the pope.
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A prime example is the United States, where a 7% drop in the national birth rate has been recorded since the pandemic started, according to UPI.
“Today… we see a form of selfishness,” the pope said. “We see that some people do not want to have a child. Sometimes they have one, and that’s it, but they have dogs and cats that take the place of children.”
Couples who are unable to have children should seek to adopt and look to the guidance of Joseph, the “foster father” of Jesus, he noted, according to a report.
Joseph represents one of the “highest forms of love,” according to the holy father.
“How many children in the world are waiting for someone to take care of them?” he asked.
The adoption process must also become more accessible for more people, the pope said.
“It is a risk, yes. Having a child is always a risk, either naturally or by adoption,” he said. “But it is riskier not to have them. It is riskier to deny fatherhood or to deny motherhood, be it real or spiritual. But denial, a man or woman who do not develop the sense of fatherhood or motherhood, they are lacking something, something fundamental, something important.”
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Pope Francis does not have any reported pets at the Vatican.
