The Pope has [suggested / suggestion] that people who choose to have pets instead of children were acting [selfish / selfishly] . Pope Francis was addressing worshippers [on / in] Rome. He told his audience that substituting children for pets was a "[denial / deny] of fatherhood and motherhood". He added: "Today, we see a form of [selfishly / selfishness] . We see that some people do not want to have a child. Sometimes they have [justly / just] one, and that's it, but they have dogs and cats that [take / give] the place of children." Pope Francis encouraged couples to [redact / adopt] children. He said: "We must not be [afraid / scary] to choose the path of adoption, to take the risk of welcoming children. Having a child is always a risk, but there is [more / many] risk in not having a child."
It is not the first time Pope Francis has [speaking / spoken] out on this topic. In 2014, he said choosing pets over children was detrimental [at / to] our future. He called it a "phenomenon of cultural [degradation / gradation] ". He commented that the [emotional / financial] relationship with pets was "easier" than the "complex" relationship with children. [On / In] continuing this theme, he called the downward [trend / trendy] in birth rates across many countries a "demographic winter". Not everyone [concur / agrees] with the Pope's comments. The New York Post pointed out the [contradiction / contraction] of Francis taking his name from St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint [of / at] animals. It added: "Dogs make us more human. They make us better. Dogs, I think, [be / are] superior to most people."
