‘In Your Country, People Make 4-5 Kids But Some Happy With Dogs, Cats’: Pope’s Remarks On Birthrates Stirs Debate
News 18Pope Francis waded back into a controversial debate on parenthood Wednesday, hailing Indonesia’s birthrate and joking that people in other countries would rather have a pet cat or dog than their own babies. “In your country people make three, four or five children, that’s an example for every country, while some prefer to only have a cat or a little dog,” he said during a speech to officials at the presidential palace in Jakarta. Indonesian President Joko Widodo burst out laughing, with the pope then turning to him and quipping: “It’s true, isn’t it?” Francis — who like other Catholic clergy is forbidden from having sex according to Church rules — is in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy for the first stop of a 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific. “The pope doesn’t know that many people in Indonesia already practise being childfree,” another X user wrote.
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Pope Francis in Indonesia: Pontifex wades into ‘childless cat lady’ debate
The Independent
'Keep it up': Pope praises Indonesians for maintaining bigger families, questions choosing pets over children
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