Starting a family in Italy is becoming a 'titanic effort' that only the rich can afford, Pope Francis said.
Starting a family in Italy is becoming a "titanic effort" that only the rich can afford, Pope Francis said on Friday, warning that "savage" free-market conditions were preventing the young from having children.Posted: May 12, 2023 10:23 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago
Births in Italy dropped below 400,000 in 2022, registering a 14th consecutive annual fall, with the overall population declining by 179,000 to 58.85 million. Italy's fertility rate of 1.24 children per woman is among the lowest in the world. "The free market, without the necessary corrective measures, becomes savage and produces increasingly serious situations and inequalities," he added.Francis acknowledged that there were "almost insurmountable constraints" on young women forced to choose between their career and motherhood. Given the high costs involved in raising children, people were revising their priorities, he added.
A newborn baby rests in his mother's arms inside a room of the Santo Spirito Hospital on Nov. 15, 2022, in Rome. Meloni, who has a daughter with her partner, told the family association congress that it was time to reverse the trend. But she said it must be done without resorting to surrogacy, hitting on broader political talking points that have surrounded the demographic debate in Italy as well as the government's crackdown on migrants and aversion to registering children of same-sex couples.
Meloni and her alliance have vowed to resume a strict crackdown on migrants coming to Italy via Libyan-based smugglers.Meanwhile, a member of her Brothers of Italy party was criticized by the opposition Democratic Party last month for comments "reminiscent of the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini."
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