Depopulation, the Pope: «You don't have children, everyone prefers the dog»

"I am worried about the few births and the culture of depopulation that comes from these few births of children."

Pope Francis said this during an audience with members of the Association for Subsidiarity and Modernization of Local Authorities.

«It's true, anyone can have a dog, but you want to have children. But Italy, like Spain, needs children instead. Instead, children are not made and it is more common to have a dog", the pontiff said. Adding: «We must take the birth problem seriously because the future of the country is at stake. Having children is a duty to survive in order to move forward."

«This is not an advertisement for a birth agency – concluded Bergoglio jokingly – but I want to underline this: the drama of births. This must be taken very seriously."

(Unioneonline/lf)