Pope joins Meloni in urging Italians to have more children – not pets

Blasting couples who have pets instead of children, Francis called for resources to be dedicated to helping couples grow their families, saying it was necessary to “plant the future” with hope

Pope Francis greets Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni (AP)

The Pope has joined Italy’s conservative premier in encouraging Italians to have more children – denouncing the financial precariousness facing young couples and “selfish, egotistical” choices that have led to a record low birth rate that threatens the country’s economic future.

Francis urged concrete political action to invert the so-called “demographic winter”, which in population terms resulted in the disappearance of a city the size of Bari last year.