"Takes away our humanity": Pope Francis' comments on pets sparks controversy online

Pope Francis recently found himself in the middle of a controversy after criticizing couples who choose to have pets over children. During a recent general audience at the Vatican, the pontiff also dubbed such couples as “selfish”:

"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 two dogs, two cats... Yes, dogs and cats take the place of children. This may make people laugh, but it is a reality.”

He even claimed that such life decisions stand against the concept of parenthood and “takes away humanity”:

“This denial of fatherhood or motherhood diminishes us, it takes away our humanity. And in this way civilization becomes aged and without humanity, because it loses the richness of fatherhood and motherhood. And our homeland suffers, as it does not have children."

The head of the Catholic Church also mentioned that couples who fail to have children for biological reasons should consider adoption and refrain from being afraid of parenthood.

Francis' comments left several people disappointed, and many took to social media to share their contradictory views on the situation.

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Twitter reacts to Pope Francis' remarks on pets

Netizens were left disappointed by Pope Francis' comments on pets (Image via Grzegorz Galazka/Getty Images)

Pope Francis made the news in 2014 when he said that having pets over children was a “phenomenon of cultural degradation.” At the time he said that building emotional relationships with pets was "easier" compared to the "complex" relationship between parents and children.

Earlier this week, the sovereign of the Vatican City State repeated his past sentiments and said couples who raise pets instead of children are “selfish.” He also talked about the theory of “demographic winter” in relation to the situation, referring to countries with declining birth rates.

Francis' latest remarks sparked major disappointment within the online community, with several people taking to Twitter to call out his views:

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Despite his critical remarks on having pets, the pontiff has often been seen with animals. He was previously photographed petting a dog, tiger and panther cub and draping a baby lamb over his shoulders during Epiphany 2014.

However, unlike his predecessor Benedict XVI, who was a proud cat owner, Francis does not have any pets of his own.