Pope Francis sent a message to the second annual meeting on “The General State of the Birth Rate.”
“The issue of birth rate represents a real social emergency.”
“It is not immediately perceptible, like other problems that occupy the news, but it is very urgent: fewer and fewer children are being born, and this means impoverishing everyone’s future; Italy, Europe, and the West are impoverishing their futures.”
Italy, where the meeting is held, has one of the lowest birth rates in Europe at 1.24 births per woman.
“The data, the forecasts, the numbers are now known to all: we need concreteness.”
Pope Francis said this represents a “tragic poverty because it affects human beings in their greatest wealth: bringing lives into the world to care for them, passing on to others the received existence with love.”
“Many young people find it hard to realize their dream of a family, and they end up lowering their bar of desire to settle for mediocre substitutes such as business, travel, and cars.”
Speaking to the “women and men who have the desire for a child but are unable to achieve it,” he said “it is time to give real answers to families and young people: hope cannot and must not die of waiting.”
Pray with Pope Francis so together “we can reverse the course of this cold demographic winter!” 🙏
Children are the future stewards of Planet Earth our Common Home. May each and every child and their parents be blessed with health and prosperity.