According to the Pope, at an institutional level, policies are needed to tackle the crisis.
Pope Francis speaks during the"The General State of the Birth Rate" conference on Italy's sliding birthrate, in Rome, Italy, May 10, 2024.Governments have to implement “serious and effective” policies in favour of families to tackle the issues of falling birth rates and aging populations, Pope Francis said on Friday.
The pope further added: “At the institutional level, there is an urgent need for effective policies, courageous, concrete and long-term choices, to sow today so that children can reap tomorrow.”“Homes are filled with objects and emptied of children, becoming very sad places. There is no shortage of little dogs or cats. These are not lacking. There is a lack of children.
He continued: “There is a fact that a demographics scholar told me. Right now, the investments that give the most revenue are the arms factories and contraceptives. One destroys life, the other prevents life. And these are the investments that give the most revenue. What future do we have?” Europe’s fertility rate has been stuck around 1.5 births per woman for the past decade. That is above the lows seen in East Asia, but far short of the 2.1 needed to maintain population levels.
In Italy, births dropped to a record low in 2023, the 15th consecutive annual decline, national statistics institute ISTAT said in March.
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