Pope Francis told a conference of pro-family organisations in Rome that “selfish, egotistical” young Italians should be having more children and less pets.
The Pope was speaking with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in an effort to urge political leaders to reverse a “demographic winter” in the country, which saw a population dip of more than 300,000 last year.
MSN reports: After blasting couples who were choosing to have pets instead of children, the Pope said dedicated resources should be diverted to help them grow families, adding it was necessary to “plant the future” with hope.
“Let us not resign ourselves to sterile dullness and pessimism,” Francis told an annual gathering of pro-family organisations in Rome.
“Let us not believe that history is already marked, that nothing can be done to reverse the trend.”
Italy had a record low of live births in 2022, at 392,598, which when combined with a high number of registered deaths, at 713,499, has meant the country has accelerated a demographic trend that could impact its social security system.
Ms Meloni, who is considered to be a right wing leader in Italy, and her government, is backing a campaign to encourage at least 500,000 births every year by 2033, which is the rate demographers say is needed to protect the economy from collapse so that more people can work as the rate of pensioners increases.
The premier ran on a pro-family campaign of “God, family, fatherland”, with her government proposing several measures to encourage families to have more children.
Italy’s fertility rate is among the lowest in the world, at 1.24 children per woman.