Pope Francis commended Indonesia’s relatively high birth rate during his visit to Jakarta on Wednesday, contrasting it with a growing trend in Western countries where people are opting to have pets instead of children.
“Your country…has families with three, four or five children that keep moving forward, and this is reflected in the age levels of the country,” Pope Francis said, speaking alongside Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo.
He noted a worrying trend in other parts of the world, where people increasingly opt for pets over children. “Keep it up, you’re an example for everyone, for all the countries that maybe, and this might sound funny, (where) these families prefer to have a cat or a little dog instead of a child,” Francis added, turning to Widodo with a chuckle.
Pope Francis has touched on this theme before, warning of homes “filled with objects and emptied of children.” “There is no shortage of little dogs, cats, these are not lacking. There is a lack of children,” he said on one occasion.
The visit comes at a time when Indonesia has faced episodes of religious violence, including a 2021 suicide bombing outside a Catholic cathedral. Amnesty International expressed hope that Francis’ visit would help curb such acts of intolerance and strengthen religious freedom in the country