Pope Francis mocks ‘childless cat lady’ during historic Asia Pacific trip

Pope Francis praised Indonesians for choosing large families over pets during the first stop of a historic four-country trip to Asia, weighing in on the “childless cat lady” discourse.

The pontiff was speaking alongside Indonesia’s president Joko Widodo in a hall full of politicians at capital Jakarta’s presidential palace on Wednesday 4 September, when he drew smiles as he reignited the long-running debate over childless pet owners.

The Vatican leader said Indonesia set an example for other countries with dwindling birth rates.

“Keep it up, you’re an example for everyone, for all the countries that maybe, and this might sound funny, [where] these families prefer to have a cat or a little dog instead of a child,” he quipped.

“This can’t go well.”