Pope Francis warns pets must not replace children in Italy

Starting a family in Italy is becoming a "titanic effort" that only the rich can afford, Pope Francis has warned.

Addressing a conference on Italy's demographic crisis, he said pets were replacing children in many households.

Also on stage were dozens of young people, wearing t-shirts saying "we can do this" - alluding to convincing people to have more children.

Italy has one of the lowest fertility rates in the EU and births dropped below 400,000 last year - a new low.

In his speech in Rome, the Pope said the declining birth rate signalled a lack of hope in the future, with younger generations weighed down by a sense of uncertainty, fragility and precariousness.

"Difficulty in finding a stable job, sky-high rents and insufficient wages are real problems," he said.

Warning that pets were replacing children in some households, the Pope recounted how a woman had opened her bag and asked him to "bless her baby".

Except it was not a baby, but a small dog.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65572153