VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis has criticised people who care more about their pets than about their neighbours.  In a Jubilee audience in Saint Peter’s Square he asked, “How many times do we see people who are very much attached to dogs and cats, and then who leave their hungry neighbours without help?”

 The pontiff invited those present “to be attentive to not identify piety with that most widespread pietism which is just a superficial emotion that offends the other.  Piety must not be confused with compassion for animals that live amongst us, in fact it sometimes occurs that one feels towards animals and remains indifferent towards the suffering of one’s brothers.”

 “Try piety, as the equivalent of sharing the sadness of those we meet but at the same time working in person to change it into joy,” he continued. “We, too, are called to cultivate compassion in the face of life, shaking off the indifference that stops us recognising the suffering of our brothers who surround us and liberating us from the bondage of material well-being.”

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