The pope had already signaled his kids-over-kibbles stance in a 2014 interview with the Rome daily Il Messaggero. When asked whether some in society valued pets more than children, he said that it was a reality that reflected a “sign of cultural degeneration.”
Francis, too, has demonstrated that he respects and cares for animals.
In his 2015 encyclical on the environment, “Laudato Si’,” or “Praise Be to You. On Care for Our Common Home,” for example, he repeatedly pointed to interconnectedness of humans and all creatures.
And during his papacy, he’s petted a number of animals, mostly dogs.