Pope Warns Pets Must Not 'Replace' Babies
During a conference in Rome on May 12, Pope Francis warned that pets must not replace babies, as the country continues to face a demographic crisis.
The conference, which involved the pope blessing pregnant women on stage, encouraged people in Italy to start families. The country has one of the lowest birthrates in Europe, with births falling below 400,000 for the first time in 2022.
The pope said the decreasing birthrate showed a lack of hope in the future among younger generations, as reported by Reuters. He also acknowledged that due to difficulty finding jobs, expensive rent and poor wages, it's become harder for young people to start families.
Because of this, some households may be choosing to adopt a pet instead of raising children. The pope expressed his anger at the situation during a recent event where a woman asked him to bless her "baby," which was in fact a small dog.
While the pope's attitudes may be unpopular with pet owners, the falling population is a big problem for Italy, which hasn't had an increase in birthrate for 14 years.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called the decreasing birthrate a "national emergency" as she spoke at the conference beside the pope. Meloni, who won the largest share of women's votes in September elections, has promised more support for women and families.
However, Italy is not alone in this problem. Last year, South Korea broke its own record for the lowest birthrate in the world, while the number of marriages in the country was at an all-time low in 2021.
