Pope brands couples who choose pets over children 'selfish'

Pope Francis suggests couples who prefer pets to children are selfish.

The Catholic leader said substituting pets for children “takes away our humanity”.

He told a general audience at the Vatican: “Today, we see a form of selfishness.

“We see that some people do not want to have a child.

“Sometimes they have one, and that’s it, but they have dogs and cats that take the place of children.

“This may make people laugh but it is a reality.”

Keeping pets, he said, is “a denial of fatherhood and motherhood and diminishes us, takes away our humanity”.

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