TIMES.KY

Cayman Islands, Caribbeanand International News
Friday, Mar 24, 2023

Pope Scolds Couples Who Choose Pets Over Kids

Pope Scolds Couples Who Choose Pets Over Kids

Expressing concern about global birthrates, Francis said such couples were acting in a selfish way that diminished humanity.

Pope Francis has not been reluctant to offer his views on polarizing subjects, but on Wednesday, he waded into an issue involving two subjects on which consensus is almost impossible to find.

Pets and kids.

Speaking on parenthood during a general audience at the Vatican on Wednesday, Francis bemoaned the global decline in birthrates — what he described as a “demographic winter” — and was bluntly critical of couples who prefer to have pets rather than children.

People who have pets instead of children, the pope said, were being selfish, exhibiting a “denial of fatherhood or motherhood” that “diminishes us, it takes away our humanity.”

“Yes, dogs and cats take the place of children,” Francis said, laying out the harsh consequences of a childless future, including the inevitable drying up of pension plans. “Yes, it’s funny, I understand, but it is the reality.”

The reaction on social media was heated.

Several people pointed out that the pope had made a deliberate decision not to have children and should have little say on the matter. “Is the Vatican gonna pay daycare?” one Twitter user asked.

Others noted that Francis was failing to live up to his namesake, Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals.

The pope had already signaled his kids-over-kibbles stance in a 2014 interview with the Rome daily Il Messaggero. When asked whether some in society valued pets more than children, he said that it was a reality that reflected a “sign of cultural degeneration.”

“That’s because an emotional relationship with animals is easier, more programmable,” he said at the time. He added, “Having a child is something complex.”

Pope Francis is not known to have kept pets in his apartment at a Vatican guesthouse. His predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, on the other hand, was such an avowed cat person that there is even a children’s book — “Joseph and Chico: The Life of Pope Benedict XVI as Told by a Cat” — told from a feline perspective. Another children’s book muses on a goldfish’s fondness for Benedict.

Agostino Paravicini Bagliani, the author of “Il Bestiario del Papa” (The Pope’s Bestiary), said that for many centuries popes had used animals, like the dove, “to create and confirm the authority and sovereignty” of the papacy, a reinforcement of its power. It was unclear, however, exactly how many popes had domestic pets, he noted; the most famous is Pope Pius II, who lived during the Renaissance and wrote about his dog, Musetta.

Other Renaissance popes also had pets, notably Paul II, who had a monkey; Sixtus IV, who had an eagle; and Leo X, who had a menagerie of exotic animals, including lions, leopards and bears, Mr. Paravicini Bagliani said.

He also cited a famous photograph of Pius XII with a goldfinch perched on his finger.

Pius VI kept a dog, Diana, at the summer papal residence in Castel Gandolfo.

Francis, too, has demonstrated that he respects and cares for animals.

In his 2015 encyclical on the environment, “Laudato Si’,” or “Praise Be to You. On Care for Our Common Home,” for example, he repeatedly pointed to interconnectedness of humans and all creatures.

“Because all creatures are connected, each must be cherished with love and respect, for all of us as living creatures are dependent on one another,” Francis wrote.

And during his papacy, he’s petted a number of animals, mostly dogs.

On Wednesday, Francis said the world was experiencing “an age of notorious orphanhood” that could be countered, in part, by caring for children, either through adoption or naturally. “It is riskier not to have them,” Francis said. “Think about this, please.”

One animal rights group said it wasn’t an either/or situation.

“It is strange to think that the pope considers love in our lives to be limited in quantity, and that giving it to someone takes it away from others,” said Massimo Comparotto, the president of the Italian branch of the International Organization for the Protection of Animals.

“Perhaps the pontiff is unaware of the enormous sacrifices that volunteers endure” to help save animals, he said in a statement. “Anyone who thinks that life is sacred loves life beyond species,” he said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

TIMES.KY
Close
0:00
0:00
Powell: Silicon Valley Bank was an 'outlier'
Donald Trump arrested – Twitter goes wild with doctored pictures
NYPD is setting up barricades outside Manhattan Criminal Court ahead of Trump arrest.
Credit Suisse's Scandalous History Resulted in an Obvious Collapse - It's time for regulators who fail to do their job to be held accountable and serve as an example by being behind bars.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman tours potential migrant housing in Rwanda as asylum deal remains mired in legal challenges
Paris Rioting vs Macron anti democratic law
'Sexual Fantasy' Assignment At US School Outrages Parents
Credit Suisse to borrow $54 billion from Swiss central bank
Russian Hackers Preparing New Cyber Assault Against Ukraine
Jeremy Hunt insists his Budget will get young parents and over-50s back into work
If this was in Tehran, Moscow or Hong Kong
TRUMP: "Standing before you today, I am the only candidate who can make this promise: I will prevent World War III."
Mexican President Claims Mexico is Safer than the U.S.
A brief banking situation report
Lady bites police officer and gets instantly reaction
We are witnessing widespread bank fails and the president just gave a 5 min speech then walked off camera.
Donald Trump's asked by Tucker Carlson question on if the U.S. should support regime change in Russia?.
Silicon Valley Bank exec was Lehman Brothers CFO
In a potential last-ditch effort, HSBC is considering a rescue deal to save Silicon Valley Bank UK from insolvency
BBC Director General, Tim Davie, has apologized, but not resigned, yet, following the disruption of sports programmes over the weekend
Elon Musk Is Planning To Build A Town In Texas For His Employees
The Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse effect is spreading around the world, affecting startup companies across the globe
City officials in Berlin announced on Thursday that all swimmers at public pools will soon be allowed to swim topless
Fitness scam
Market Chaos as USDC Loses Peg to USD after $3.3 Billion Reserves Held by Silicon Valley Bank Closed.
Senator Tom Cotton: If the Mexican Government Won’t Stop Cartels from Killing Americans, Then U.S. Government Should
Banking regulators close SVB, the largest bank failure since the financial crisis
The unelected UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, an immigrant himself, defends new controversial crackdown on illegal migration
Man’s penis amputated by mistake after he’s wrongly diagnosed with a tumour
In a major snub to Downing Street's Silicon Valley dreams, UK chip giant Arm has dealt a serious blow to the government's economic strategy by opting for a US listing
It's the question on everyone's lips: could a four-day workweek be the future of employment?
Is Gold the Ultimate Safe Haven Asset in Times of Uncertainty?
Spain officials quit over trains that were too wide for tunnels...
Don Lemon, a CNN anchor, has provided a list of five areas that he believes the black community needs to address.
Hello. Here is our news digest from London.
Corruption and Influence Buying Uncovered in International Mainstream Media: Investigation Reveals Growing Disinformation Mercenaries
Givenchy Store in New York Robbed of $50,000 in Merchandise
European MP Clare Daly condemns US attack on Nord Stream
Former U.S. President Carter will spend his remaining time at home and receive hospice care instead of medication
Tucker Carlson called Trump a 'demonic force'
US Joins 15 NATO Nations in Largest Space Data Collection Initiative in History
White House: No ETs over the United States
U.S. Jet Shoots Down Flying Object Over Canada
Being a Tiktoker might be expensive…
SpaceX, the private space exploration company, made a significant breakthrough in their mission to reach space.
China's top tech firms, including Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, NetEase, and JD.com, are developing their own versions of Open AI's AI-powered chatbot, ChatGPT
This shocking picture, showing how terrible is the results of the earthquake in Turkey
President Joe Biden delivered the 2023 State of the Union Address , in order to help Americans that missed the 2022 speech, do not have internet, and suffer from short memory.
The desk of King Carlos Alberto of Sardinia has many secret compartments
Today's news from Britain - 9th February 2023
×