Having pets instead of kids robs us of ‘humanity’, pope says - Politics Forum.org | PoFo

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#15206051
Having pets instead of kids robs us of ‘humanity’, pope says


Pope Francis suggested people who substitute pets for kids exhibit ‘a certain selfishness’, urges easing of adoption procedures.

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Pope Francis has risked the ire of the world’s childless dog and cat owners, suggesting people who substitute pets for kids exhibit “a certain selfishness”.

Speaking on parenthood during a general audience on Wednesday at the Vatican, Francis lamented that pets “sometimes take the place of children” in society.


“Today … we see a form of selfishness,” said the pope. “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.”

The practice, said the head of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics, “is a denial of fatherhood and motherhood and diminishes us, takes away our humanity”.

Thus, “civilisation grows old without humanity because we lose the richness of fatherhood and motherhood, and it is the country that suffers”, the pontiff said at the Paul VI Hall.


Francis has been photographed petting dogs, allowed a baby lamb to be draped over his shoulders during Epiphany in 2014 and even petted a tiger and a baby panther.

But while his predecessor, Benedict XVI, was a cat lover, Francis is not known to have a pet at his Vatican residence.

In 2014, the 85-year-old told Il Messaggero daily that having pets instead of children was “another phenomenon of cultural degradation”, and that emotional relationships with pets was “easier” than the “complex” relationship between parents and children.

On Wednesday, while inviting couples who are unable to have children for biological reasons to consider adoption, he urged potential parents “not to be afraid” in embarking on parenthood.

“Having a child is always a risk, but there is more risk in not having a child, in denying paternity,” he said.

“This kind of choice is among the highest forms of love, and of fatherhood and motherhood,” he said of adoption. “How many children in the world are waiting for someone to take care of them!”

The Argentinian pontiff has in the past denounced the “demographic winter”, or falling birth rates in the developed world.

Earlier this year, he criticised modern society, in which career and money-making trumps building a family for many, calling such mentality “gangrene for society”.

SOURCE:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/1/5 ... -pope-says


I think he is right:" No god, No children."


There is no econimic reason to have children.
#15206076
The Pope can suck my dick. As a priest he's probably pretty good at it.

Pets are a sign of humanity. Loving and caring for someone other than yourself is what makes us human. he's a clueless twat who only wants Christians to out-breed everyone else, like demented, delusional rabbits.

God? Which one? Odin? I am not sure he says much on the subject.

Our world is already over-populated. Why should we have more simply because of the opinion of some kiddy-fiddling old man?


PS: We clean up after our dog.
#15206092
I really dislike the angle where you try to advocate fertility by attacking pet ownership.

I also say this as a conservative who supports the gist of the message but... You should adopt pets.

And childless people that love and adopt abused animals are really wonderful.

Encourage them to have kids but don't bring their pets into this.
#15206098
As a person who loves his cat, I think that choosing to have a pet can be just as much as an obligation as children. Dogs seem especially needy. And there are lots of pets that also need to be adopted.

And lower birthrates are a good thing. Less people means less resource use. Less environmental impact.

But I chose to have children. And it changes you on a fundamental level that childless people cannot understand, but that does not mean that everyone should have children.

And if people feel like they can choose whether or not to have kids, I think we should applaud ourselves as a society for getting to that point.
#15206103
Pets are an important part of the family unit and certainly help people cope with life, but the way most single Millenials treat pets is not how things are supposed to be.

Cat are actually an outdoors animal for instance and thrive in larger environments(like front and backyards). Yes they kill birds and other wildlife but they're still better and more humane at getting rid of rodent infestation than using ratsack is. If you're concerned you own a more "sensitive breed" like Siamese cats, just install a damn Cat Door for them.

They should be encouraged to kill rodents by hunting for them and be allowed to engage in their wild instinct. My childhood cat spent 90% of her time outdoors(she was "One litter then fixed", but was also a Tortoise Shell). Well trained outdoors cats never get lost, they return home for food, pats and comfy bed. And they mostly kill rats and mice, only small birds occasionally.

Most Millenials are stupid enough to keep them entirely indoors 100% of the time, and too terrified of them acting naturally outdoors "on endangered wildlife".

Likewise they don't let dogs engage in normitive lives living outside and guarding the front door either. They think small Dogs also should be locked inside and never allowed to venture out.

Even Chihuahua's are meant to spend most of their daytime playing outdoors or at least have the "Doggie door" option.
#15206105
@colliric :lol: You're talking crap, as usual.

I can go back 40 years and there were people who treated their pets like children. This is NOT a generational thing. Most people don't treat their pets like children. Such has always been the case.

Millennials are just the latest generation, and all the dumbasses who did the same thing when they were young, are ragging on them.

You're just another "Get off my lawn!" old man, talking about how the younger generation is screwing things up. It's a tired old meme.
#15206106
It's really easy to tell if somebody is a self serving manipulative sociopath. Just ask them if they like friendly companion animals. If they say no then they are going to stab you in your sleep 100%.

Not surprised that Zombie Jesus Worship Patriarch 'loves' children. I'm sure he 'loves' them very much. The more children the merrier for his kind.

And dogs are dogs, cats are cats. I'd never have a pet cat there's too much variation you could get a bird killing sociopath cat or a cat that acts like a member of the pack. Dogs are almost always certified pack animals and will blend in nicely. I like to play it safe, these animals are going to be licking you and cuddling you I really dislike raw meat bird breath.

I just bought a new dog. I will post some pics later.
#15206108
Cats are still the most humane way to get rid of your rodents through a mixture of fear tactics and direct kills. Rat poison is more inhumane, it creates a long slow painful death. And rat traps are cruel, teasing the rat with a treat and then violently killing it by snapping it's neck.

At least the Cat will play with it as it's last moment of happiness. Lol.

I also owned a Pomeranian Terrier mix.... Lasted nearly 18 years and was extremely healthy and energetic throughout(only showed his age in the last 2 years), great innings for a Dog.
#15206109
colliric wrote:Cats are still the most humane way to get rid of your rodents through a mixture of fear tactics and direct kills. Rat poison is more inhumane, it creates a long slow painful death. And rat traps are cruel, teasing the rat with a treat and then violently killing it.

At least the Cat will play with it as it's last moment of happiness. Lol.

I also owned a Pomeranian Terrier mix.... Lasted nearly 18 years and was extremely healthy and energetic throughout(only showed his age in the last 2 years), great innings for a Dog.


Cats are too destructive in some countries. Australia for example. I'd rather have 10 native birds living around house than one cat. The cost/benefit ratio is similar. The birds here are great at removing spiders and small rodents. One cat in any household means 100 birds killed per cat in street minimum.

I got an American Bully XL. Hope it doesn't get above 50kg, but they can survive 14 years and over 10 years healthy, never getting a giant breed again. My last dog was bigger than most people and a full time job.
#15206110
Depends on your location. Melbourne is dominated by Magpies, Seagulls, Pigeons, Honeyeaters and other types of birds with good eyesight.

My cat literally only killed a sparrow or two and maybe a Rosella once in her entire 18 year career. At least from what we saw anyway. She spent most of her time hunting rats and mice under the house and in the garage. We rewarded the mice and rat killing, so maybe she focused on those.

My dog nearly killed a few birds and a couple of possums as well. They "wandered into his (covered outdoor laundry) domain" got injured while stuck "inside" and like a good guard dog he immediately attacked anyway, probably would have killed them and buried them had we not heard them in time. Even dogs will go back to nature in the right circumstances. Our dog literally fought rogue possums on a frequent basis and large rats. It's how I know dogs also have the instinct to kill rodents, more of a direct showdown though than a hunt.
#15206132
Arguably, if no one had pets, then there would be no animals that get abused.

I don't care about people going childless or not, but I do think people should go petless.

If my asshole neighbors picked up their dog's shit, maybe I've be more ok with pet ownership. :lol: Fucking assholes.
Last edited by Rancid on 06 Jan 2022 16:54, edited 1 time in total.
#15206152
It's most unfortunate that the Pope is leading an organization whose leadership is forced NOT to have children on/of their own, yet they have to put forward messages like these to ensure the continuation of human race.

That said, I agree with his statement regardless of his position on the matter. Not that I am anti-pet-keeping, but I don't think I can bear seeing the one I rear die before I do. Besides, pets will always depend on you, while human beings will be independent in time.
#15206211
PETA = People Eating Tasty Animals

Me too!!!

Pets are not bred to love humans. They are bred not to EAT humans. If a pet loves you or not depends on how the pet is treated, @Robert Urbanek. Your statement is absurd and foolish.

I am not for humans having pets or kids, but my wife was... :hmm: So much for the myth of Free Will! :lol:

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