Replace cats with human procreation: Pope

[Pluto]

So it was a couple of years ago that Pope Francis made controversial comments simultaneously criticising pet ownership and insufficient human procreation. Even giving a spanking to couples who only have one child.

"We see that people do not want to have children, or just one and no more. 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," the Pope said. "Yes, it's funny, I understand, but it is the reality. And 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."



Pope Benedict XVI made a bunch of similarly absurd remarks in his day. I remember one (though can't find it now) complaining of human underpopulation and using the weird oxymoron 'human ecology.' To think that my idiot mother fell for this scam and that's the reason why I am here.

 

[Unicr0n]

Tbf the human population as a whole is observing a decline in population growth (source) (source). I think the pope lacks life experience in understanding why people might choose animals over a human child. I babysat a human child for one hour. My motherly instincts did not kick in because I do not care for children enough to want one. I'm also aware of my genetic defects and choose not to pass them on. A dog or cat, however, my motherly instincts go off for. They are easier to take care of than children. They are simple creatures that will always love you no matter how much you screw up.

 

[Pluto]

Definitely agree about him lacking life experience.

Population growth is a difficult topic, and the Earth's carrying capacity is even more so, especially if the remainder of the ecosystem is given any value. Most studies reportedly suggest 8 billion, which is already exceeded. The UN estimates we will exceed 10 billion in the 2080s.



This is not to merely view people as numbers, but the Pope in his ivory tower, discouraging struggling people from making informed decisions is not merely irresponsible, it is inhumane.

 

[ijustwishtodie]

Pets are infinitely better than humans. Also, it sounds like the pope only wants people to have more kids so that christianity increases in numbers as more people get indoctrinated into this religion. Of course pets cannot be christian so they aren't really a useful asset to religion (though I have a feeling that, knowing you, you probably have a pusheen cat meme somewhere which depicts a "religious" cat or something)

 

[Pluto]

you probably have a pusheen cat meme

Spoiler: ...

 

[RosesFlourish]

Japan's Government: Why is our population dropping so fast??
Japanese Workers: Can't leave until their boss does, 10-12 hour days, mandatory after work events, work over weekends and even sick days are frowned upon
The Pope doesn't consider that sometimes it's straight up impossible to have kids

 

[sserafim]

So it was a couple of years ago that Pope Francis made controversial comments simultaneously criticising pet ownership and insufficient human procreation. Even giving a spanking to couples who only have one child.

"We see that people do not want to have children, or just one and no more. 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," the Pope said. "Yes, it's funny, I understand, but it is the reality. And 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."

View attachment 133406

Pope Benedict XVI made a bunch of similarly absurd remarks in his day. I remember one (though can't find it now) complaining of human underpopulation and using the weird oxymoron 'human ecology.' To think that my idiot mother fell for this scam and that's the reason why I am here.

What "insufficient human procreation?" The world is literally overpopulated lol; there are 8 billion people

Definitely agree about him lacking life experience.

Population growth is a difficult topic, and the Earth's carrying capacity is even more so, especially if the remainder of the ecosystem is given any value. Most studies reportedly suggest 8 billion, which is already exceeded. The UN estimates we will exceed 10 billion in the 2080s.

View attachment 133467

This is not to merely view people as numbers, but the Pope in his ivory tower, discouraging struggling people from making informed decisions is not merely irresponsible, it is inhumane.

The population grew by 1 billion in less than 10 years, so at that rate/projection, we'll probably reach 10 billion in 20 years. I remember when there were 7 billion people in the world (in 2012); there's a song about it. Now there are 8 billion

 

[Camper]

Look, he may not have said it outright, but it's pretty obvious what he meant was that certain people (see: ethnic Europeans) are not reproducing enough. And he's not wrong. Name me one country in Europe that has a TFR above replacement levels. You can't. If ethnic Europeans go away, so does their culture, including Catholicism. Cats and dogs will not carry on the spirit of Italy.

 

[Pluto]

Cats and dogs will not carry on the spirit of Italy.

Spoiler: Just give them a chance.

 

[Guy Smiley]

Replace the pope with cats.

 

[Blurry_Buildings]

What "insufficient human procreation?" The world is literally overpopulated lol; there are 8 billion people

The population grew by 1 billion in less than 10 years, so at that rate/projection, we'll probably reach 10 billion in 20 years. I remember when there were 7 billion people in the world (in 2012); there's a song about it. Now there are 8 billion

I think the problem is that as nations develop, they tend to experience rapid declines in birth rates. This has happened without fail to every economically developed nation so far.

In the US, we can supplement our declining population with immigrants, which keeps the population growing at a controlled rate, but other nations, especially those who struggle more with social integration, are losing people quickly. Japan, South Korea, and much of europe have been declining for a long time, and China (which is now decreasing in population) is predicted to lose anywhere from 300 - 700 million people out of its 1.4 billion by the turn of the century.

As economies rapidly grow in Africa and Southeast Asia we will probably see the global population level out and then fall. At least that's what most of the predictions say.

There's a video about it somehwere thats kind of fun to watch

 

[damyon]

Well, the guy is an influencer of some sort. His statements do not derive from data, and they are not supposed to be truthful or helpful.

He critiques current levels of human procreation, yet drawing definitive conclusions at this stage seems premature.
Procreation norms have been shifting over the past years, and we are seeing an increase in birth rates in people of age 30-45 (see the plot).
It is true that teenage birth rates are declining... but so what? While he did say that "it takes away our humanity," he failed to provide adequate rationale or clarification for this assertion.


Statements made by individuals like these can be treated as white noise... Don't allow yourself to become entangled in it, OP.

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Graph source: https://www.stadafa.com/2023/10/womens-birth-rates-by-age-group.html