Level: Intermediate (Working Adult)

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Class Progress: 05/23 – 7:00-7:25 PM Philippine Time

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Regular class

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TOPIC: Choosing pets over children is 'selfish,' says Pope

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Reading:

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The Pope has suggested that people who choose to have pets instead of children were acting selfishly. Pope Francis was addressing worshippers in Rome. He told his audience that substituting children for pets was a "denial of fatherhood and motherhood". He added: "Today, we see a form of selfishness. We see that some people do not want to have a child. Sometimes they have just one, and that's it, but they have dogs and cats that take the place of children." Pope Francis encouraged couples to adopt children. He said: "We must not be afraid to choose the path of adoption, to take the risk of welcoming children. Having a child is always a risk, but there is more risk in not having a child."

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It is not the first time Pope Francis has spoken out on this topic. In 2014, he said choosing pets over children was detrimental to our future. He called it a "phenomenon of cultural degradation". He commented that the emotional relationship with pets was "easier" than the "complex" relationship with children. In continuing this theme, he called the downward trend in birth rates across many countries a "demographic winter". Not everyone agrees with the Pope's comments. The New York Post pointed out the contradiction of Francis taking his name from St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals. It added: "Dogs make us more human. They make us better. Dogs, I think, are superior to most people."

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Questions:

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a) What do you think about what you read?

b) Is not having children 'detrimental to our

future'?

c) What do you think 'cultural degradation' is?

d) What are the pros and cons of having pets?

e) How worrying is overpopulation?

f) Do dogs 'make us better'?

g) Would you rather have children or pets?

h) What questions would you like to ask Pope

Francis?

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a) What do you think of pets?

b) What's the best pet to have?

c) What do you know about Pope Francis?

d) What do you think of what Pope Francis said?

e) Is not having children selfish?

f) What are the pros and cons of having

children?

g) What do you think of adoption?

h) What advice do you have for couples who do

not want children?

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Vocabulary:

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1. detrimental = Tending to cause harm.

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2. phenomenon = A fact or situation that is observed to exist or happen, especially one whose cause or explanation is in question.

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3. degradation = The condition or process of degrading or being degraded.

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4. demographic = Relating to the structure of populations.

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5. contradiction = A combination of statements, ideas, or features which are opposed to one another.

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6. patron saint = The protecting or guiding saint of a person, thing or place.