The pope on Wednesday made the comments while speaking about the figure of Joseph serving as the “foster father” of Jesus.

“Joseph shows us that this type of bond is not secondary; it is not an afterthought, no,” Pope Francis said. “This kind of choice is among the highest forms of love, and of fatherhood and motherhood. How many children in the world are waiting for someone to take care of them.”

Pope Francis sitting on a table: Pope Francis speaking in a public service announcement on the need for people to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Francis called getting vaccinated "an act of love."© The Vatican Pope Francis speaking in a public service announcement on the need for people to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Francis called getting vaccinated “an act of love.”He also lauded individuals around the world who adopt children and called for simplifying adoption procedures.

But he added that “Today … we see a form of selfishness,” and that some individuals “do not want to have children, or just one and no more,” as translated in multiple reports.

“And many, many couples do not have children because they do not want to, or they have just one – but they have two dogs, two cats… Yes, dogs and cats take the place of children,” he said.

“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,” he added.

This is not the first time the 85-year-old pope has addressed those who opt for pets instead of children. In 2014, he called the choice “another phenomenon of cultural degradation,” according to multiple reports.

 

  • Slide 1 of 20: Pope Francis accompanied by the President of the autonomous Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani greets people dressed in traditional outfits upon his arrival at Arbil airport on March 7, 2021, in the capital of the northern Iraqi Kurdish autonomous region.
  • Slide 2 of 20: A nun holds a flag of Kurdistan as she waits for the arrival of Pope Francis at the Franso Hariri Stadium in Arbil, on March 7, 2021, in the capital of the northern Iraqi Kurdish autonomous region.
  • Slide 3 of 20: This picture taken March 6, 2021 shows an aerial view of seats being laid out at the ruins of the Syriac Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception (al-Tahira-l-Kubra), in the old city of Iraq's northern city of Mosul (formerly ravaged by Islamic State group militants), amidst preparations ahead of the pope's visit to the town.
  • Slide 4 of 20: Iraqi security forces patrol near the Chaldean Cathedral of Saint Joseph where Pope Francis is expected to concelebrate mass in, in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, March 6, 2021. Earlier today Francis met privately with the country's revered Shiite leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
  • Slide 5 of 20: Women wait outside the Chaldean Cathedral of Saint Joseph, in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, March 6, 2021, where Pope Francis, depicted on a giant poster at their back, is concelebrating a mass. Earlier today Francis met privately with the country's revered Shiite leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. (
  • Slide 6 of 20: Pope Francis, third from left, arrives to concelebrate a mass in the Chaldean Cathedral of Saint Joseph, in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, March 6, 2021. Earlier today Francis met privately with the country's revered Shiite leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
  • Slide 7 of 20: Pope Francis and Iraqi President Barham Salih, right, are preceded by children bringing flowers as they meet at Baghdad's Presidential Palace, Iraq March 5, 2021. Pope Francis arrived in Iraq on Friday to urge the country's dwindling number of Christians to stay put and help rebuild the country after years of war and persecution, brushing aside the coronavirus pandemic and security concerns.
  • Slide 8 of 20: Iraqi security stand guard as people line up on the road leading to Baghdad airport to welcome Pope Francis on March 5, 2021 at the start of the first papal visit to Iraq. Pope Francis landed in war-battered Iraq on the first-ever papal visit, defying security fears and the pandemic to comfort one of the world's oldest and most persecuted Christian communities.
  • Slide 9 of 20: Pope Francis is flanked by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi upon his arrival at Baghdad's international airport, Iraq, March 5, 2021. The Iraqi government is eager to show off the relative security it has achieved after years of conflicts, militant attacks and wars. Francis and the Vatican delegation are relying on Iraqi security forces to protect them, and will be flying around the country on Iraqi Airways.
  • Slide 10 of 20: Christians gather at the Church of the Virgin Mary before going to the airport to welcome the Pope in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, March 5, 2021.
  • Slide 11 of 20: Iraqi children dressed in traditional outfits wait for the arrival of Pope Francis at the presidential palace in Baghdad's Green Zone following his arrival at the Iraqi captial's airport on March 5, 2021, starting the first papal visit to Iraq.
  • Slide 12 of 20: A member of Iraq's security forces keep watch in Baghdad on March 5, 2021, hours before the start of Pope Francis' first visit to Iraq.
  • Slide 13 of 20: Iraqi Christian youths pose with the Vatican flag as they head to a church where Pope Francis will celebrate a mass on March 5, 2021 in Baghdad, hours before the start of the pontiff's first visit to Iraq.
  • Slide 14 of 20: Iraqi security forces stand guard by a mural depicting Pope Francis outside of Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, March 5, 2021.
  • Slide 15 of 20: Iraqi priest Ammar Yaqo looks on as Karjiya Baqtar embroiders a precious prayer shawl using golden thread, to gift to Pope Francis during his upcoming visit to her Iraqi hometown Qaraqosh on March 4, 2021. The shawl is entirely locally produced, from the checkered red and black fabric to the Syriac prayers hand-stitched along its edges in glimmering gold.
  • Slide 16 of 20: Workers hang flags of Iraq and Vatican City on road posts in Iraq's northern city of Mosul, on Feb. 4, 2021, on the eve of a historic visit by Pope Francis to the war-battered country.
  • Slide 17 of 20: Young girls take a selfie in front of a poster promoting the upcoming trip of Pope Francis on March 4, 2021 in Erbil, Iraq.
  • Slide 18 of 20: An Iraqi army soldier stands patrol outside the Immaculate Conception Church during preparations for Pope Francis' upcoming trip to Iraq in Qaraqos, Iraq, Thursday, March. 4, 2021. The pope will visit the church of the "Immaculate Conception" in Qaraqosh in northern Iraq, during his historic trip to the country this week. Damaged and charred during the IS reign of terror, the church's tragedy mirrored that of its Christian community which was devastated by the group.
  • Slide 19 of 20: Iraqis pass a poster announcing the upcoming visit of the Pope Francis and a meeting with a revered Shiite Muslim leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, right, in Najaf, Iraq, March 4, 2021.
  • Slide 20 of 20: Federal policemen patrol by a concrete wall placed by Iraqi security forces to surround the Our Lady of Salvation Church during preparations for the Pope's visit in Mar Youssif Church in Baghdad, Iraq, Feb. 26, 2021.
Slide 1 of 20: Pope Francis accompanied by the President of the autonomous Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani greets people dressed in traditional outfits upon his arrival at Arbil airport on March 7, 2021, in the capital of the northern Iraqi Kurdish autonomous region.

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1/20 SLIDES © SAFIN HAMED, AFP via Getty Images
Pope Francis accompanied by the President of the autonomous Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani greets people dressed in traditional outfits upon his arrival at Arbil airport on March 7, 2021, in the capital of the northern Iraqi Kurdish autonomous region.