Pope Francis has concluded his visit to Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. He met there, among others, with President Joko Widodo. During his conversation with the head of state, the clergyman praised Indonesians for having many children, and also raised the issue of families who prefer to have animals instead of children.
On Tuesday Pope Francis began his 12-day journey across Asia and Oceania. The first stop on his route was Jakarta. In the capital Indonesia spent three days. During this time, the Pope met with local believers and clergy, as well as representatives of the authorities. In his talks with the president of Indonesia, he raised the issue of having many children.
– There are families in your country with three, four or five children. (…) This is reflected in the average age of the inhabitants of this country. Keep it up. You are a great example for everyone – said the Pope, addressing Joko Widodo. Continuing the thread, he added that “although it may sound funny”, in other countries there are “people who prefer to have a cat or a dog instead of a child”. He laughed lightly as he said these words. His interlocutor also responded to this remark with a smile.
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The Pope on families that have animals but no children
It was not Francis' first such remark. In May of this year, during a speech at a conference in Rome devoted to the demographic crisis, the pope mentioned “houses filled with objects and empty of children” that “are becoming very sad places”. – There is no shortage of dogs or cats there. There is no shortage of that. There is a shortage of children – added the head of the Catholic Church.
The Guardian recalls that in the past, Francis has also described as “selfish” the behavior of people who decide to have animals but do not have children. According to the newspaper's report, during one in 2022, the Pope is said to have stated that such action “belittles us (as people) and takes away our humanity.”
Pope Francis in Jakarta. Comments on people who prefer pets to children PAP/EPA/DITA ALANGKARA/POOL
After completing his visit to Indonesia, Francis set off for Papua New Guinea. His 12-day journey will also include visits to East Timor and Singapore. This will be a record-breaking long and distant pilgrimage for the Pope. During it, he will cover 33,000 kilometers, spend 43 hours in a plane, and deliver 16 speeches.
CNN, Reuters, PAP, The Guardian
Main image source: PAP/EPA/DITA ALANGKARA/POOL