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It is not the
time Pope Francis has spoken out on this
. In 2014, he said choosing pets over children was
to our future. He called it a "phenomenon of cultural degradation". He commented that the emotional relationship with pets was "easier" than the "
" relationship with children. In continuing this theme, he called the downward trend in birth
across many countries a "demographic winter". Not
agrees with the Pope's
. The New York Post pointed out the contradiction of Francis taking his
from St. Francis of Assisi, the
saint of animals. It added: "Dogs make us more human. They make us better. Dogs, I think, are
to most people."