Jakarta: During his visit to Indonesia on Wednesday Pope Francis suggested people in other countries choose pets over having children while praising Indonesians for having large families. The pontiff said Indonesia is "an example for everyone. "What triggers acute conflicts and how is this resolved? With a law of death, that is, by limiting births, limiting the greatest wealth a country has, which is births. And your country, on the other hand, has families with 3, 4, or 5 children that keep moving forward, and this is reflected in the age levels of the country," said Pope.
"Keep it up, you're an example for everyone": Pope to Indonesian families
"Keep it up, you're an example for everyone, for all the countries that may be, and this might sound funny, these families prefer to have a cat or a little dog instead of a child," he added.
Francis questioned families in other countries that he says prefer to have pets rather than children. As he said that, Francis turned to Indonesian President Joko Widodo and asked "This is not right, is it?". In May of this year, at a conference in Rome, the pope made similar comments about homes having "no shortage of little dogs" but "a lack of children." The pope will leave Indonesia on Friday before heading to Papua New Guinea, then East Timor and Singapore and will have clocked nearly 33,000 km (21,000 miles) when he returns to Rome on September 13.
Pope Francis, in Muslim-majority Indonesia, warns against religious extremism
Earlier in the event, Francis urged political leaders in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, to guard against religious extremism, which he said distorted people's beliefs through "deception and violence". On a packed first full day of his longest-ever overseas journey that includes nine days in Southeast Asia, where Christians are a small minority, the pontiff also met local Catholics and asked them not to force their faith on others.
In a speech to Indonesia's political leaders, Francis said the Catholic Church would increase its efforts toward inter-religious dialogue in hopes of helping tamp down extremism. "In this way, prejudices can be eliminated, and a climate of mutual respect and trust can grow," the 87-year-old pope said in an address at Jakarta's presidential palace. "This is indispensable for meeting common challenges, including that of countering extremism and intolerance, which through the distortion of religion attempt to impose their views by using deception and violence," said Francis.
Muslims in Indonesia
About 87% of Indonesia's population of 280 million is Muslim. Freedom of religion is guaranteed in the country's constitution. Though Indonesia has seen some instances of Islamist violence in recent years, including suicide bombings in 2021 and 2022 linked to an Islamic State-inspired group, religious extremism has been on a decline since a spate of high-profile attacks two decades ago that included the 2002 Bali bombing, which killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.
Indonesia's president of 10 years, Joko Widodo, thanked Francis for his calls for a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war. "Indonesia appreciates the Vatican's attitude which continues to voice (and) call for peace," he said in his welcoming speech.
(With inputs from agency)
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