Pope Francis, the Vicar of Christ, has a message for all you “Dog Moms”: Having a dog does not make you a mother.
Despite the fact that canines have been domesticated for 30,000 years, it has been a trend in the West recently for women of all ages to spoil their pets rotten while taking an excessive amount of pride for doing so — even going so far as to treat them as actual children and declare themselves “moms” because they now look after man’s best friend.
The pope’s comments came on Friday during a conversation with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — who is one hell of a woman in her own right (see here). The two were discussing Europe’s dwindling birthrates, and Francis used two anecdotes to explain how that is impacting the continent.
“Two weeks ago, my secretary was in the square and a mother came in with a child’s [stroller’],” he explained, “A tender priest approached to bless the child … It was a little dog!”
Then, he shared another story. “At the Ash Wednesday audience, I was saying goodbye, and I arrived in front of a woman, more or less 50 years old … I greet the lady, and she opens a bag, and says, ‘Bless my child!’ A little dog!”
Francis, who is sometimes known for his short temper, had had enough.
“I didn’t have patience, and I scolded the lady. ‘Madam, so many children are hungry, and you with this little dog!'”
Speaking at a conference on birth rates with Giorgia Meloni, Pope Francis recounts a story of how he scolded a middle aged woman for calling her dog 'her baby', saying: "Madam, so many children are hungry, and you with this little dog!" pic.twitter.com/hniqQXSmQM
— Catholic Sat (@CatholicSat) May 12, 2023
Pope Francis, Amen!
It’s about time somebody smacked these “dog moms” down.
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You know the type, they post their dog — typically some sort of Goldendoodle, French Bull Dog, or Corgi — all over Instagram. These women snuggle with it, nurture it, and praise themselves for looking after their four-legged beast with all the care in the world. They even create hashtags for their furry friends. If you ever point out that having a pet does not make them a mother, then you probably won’t get invited to their dog’s first birthday party — which might be a good thing.
Meanwhile, as the pope mentioned, children are going hungry around the globe as millions of Westerners spend thousands on pets each year.
Ultimately, Francis’ message was “Have kids, not pets.” God bless him for that chastisement.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.