Pope Francis, on a visit to the capital of Indonesia, Jakarta, on Wednesday, revisited the controversial issue of demographics, jokingly stating that people in some countries prefer a cat or a small dog as companions instead of children.
„In your country, people have three, four, or five children, setting an example for each country, while some prefer to have just a cat or a small dog. This cannot be good,” Pope Francis said during a speech at the presidential palace, as reported by AFP.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo reacted with laughter, and the Pope turned to him, jokingly saying, „It’s true, isn’t it?”
Pope Francis began a three-day visit to Jakarta on Tuesday as part of an extensive tour that will also take him to Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore.
On social media, Indonesians quickly reacted to the Pope’s remarks, with some stating that they prefer wallets over having a child.
„Because you don’t have to pay school fees for dogs until they turn 20,” a user wrote on the X network.
Others have stated that the future of Indonesia, with a population of 280 million, is bleaker than the pontiff believes, as the country is facing a declining birth rate.
According to the World Bank, fertility has dropped by more than half since the 1960s.
"The Pope doesn't know that many people in Indonesia already choose not to have children," another user wrote on X. "In a few years, Indonesia will be like Japan", where the birth rate reached a historic low last year, he added.
Since his election in 2013, Pope Francis has spoken multiple times about the "demographic winter" and has encouraged people to have children.
"There is no shortage of cats, dogs... they are not lacking. There is a shortage of children. The problem in our world is not the children being born - it is selfishness, consumerism, and individualism," the Pope declared in May at a conference on birth rates in Rome.
In January 2022, the Pope lamented that many prefer pets over children. "Dogs and cats are taking the place of children," the pontiff stated. "It may make you laugh, but it is a reality," he said.
Pope Francis arrived in Indonesia on Tuesday, kicking off his longest foreign trip during his papacy so far, which will take him to four countries in Southeast Asia and Oceania over the next 12 days.