'Today... we see a form of selfishness': Pope Criticizes Pet-Parents and the Animal-Loving Internet Is Enraged

Pope Francis gave a sermon on Wednesday saying he's concerned about the recent decline in birthrate. He preached that parenthood is what gives us our “humanity.” However, he made sure to specify that he was talking about children, and not pet-parents. 

“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,” he said. “And this denial of fatherhood or motherhood diminishes us, it takes away our humanity.”

Pet-parents on the internet are not taking kindly to those comments. TikTok creators and viewers are posting about their opinions of the Pope's statement and it's really showing just how feisty these animal lovers can truly be.