The pontiff, who began a three-day visit to Jakarta on Tuesday, said that, conversely, in Indonesia “people have three, four or five children.”
Pope Francis, visiting Jakarta, returned to the controversial issue of demography on September 4, jokingly regretting that people in some countries prefer to have a pet cat or dog rather than children.
“In your country, people have three, four or five children, this is an example for each country, while some prefer to have only a cat or a small dog. This cannot go well.”he said during a speech at the presidential palace.
“Indonesia will be like Japan”
Indonesian President Joko Widodo responded by bursting into laughter, then the Pope turned to him and quipped: “That’s true, isn’t it?”The Argentine Jesuit began a three-day visit to Jakarta on Tuesday as part of a long tour that will then take him to Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore. On social media, Indonesians were quick to react to the pope’s remarks, saying that some people preferred their wallets to human beings. “Because you don’t have to pay for dogs’ tuition until they’re 20”wrote one user on X.
Others said the future of Indonesia, which has a population of 280 million, was bleaker than the pontiff had thought because the country has suffered a falling birth rate, which has more than halved since the 1960s, according to the World Bank. “The Pope does not know that many people in Indonesia already choose not to have children”wrote another user on X. “In a few years, Indonesia will be like Japan”which last year saw its birth rate hit its lowest, he added.
Since his election in 2013, Francis has repeatedly spoken of“demographic winter” and encouraged to have children. “There is no shortage of cats, dogs… there is no shortage of them. There is a shortage of children. The problem with our world is not the children being born: it is selfishness, consumerism and individualism.”he had declared in May at the Italian general assembly on birth rates. In January 2022, he had already regretted that “Dogs and cats take the place of children”. “It may sound funny, but it’s a reality.”he had said.
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