“The birth rate challenge is a matter of hope”, Pope Francis said last week while commenting on Italy’s low birth rate, adding that it “reveals a great concern for tomorrow”.
Pope Francis attended “The General State of the Birth Rate” conference, held annually in Italy, focusing on the country’s dramatic decline in population.
While there were 700,000 deaths in Italy in 2022, there were just 393,000 births, an all-time low for modern Italy.
Speaking at the conference, Pope Francis reflected that Italy’s low birth rate “reveals a great concern for tomorrow”.
“The birth of children, in fact, is the main indicator for measuring the hope of a people”, Pope Francis continued. “If few are born it means there is little hope. And this not only has repercussions from an economic and social point of view but also undermines confidence in the future.”
Pope Francis also lamented the “social climate” that young people face today, “in which starting a family has turned into a titanic effort, instead of being a shared value that everyone recognizes and supports”.
SPUC comment
A SPUC spokesperson said: “An anti-child trend has overtaken the West in recent years, leading to fewer births and more abortions. In England, roughly one in four pregnancies end in abortion – a sure sign that something is very wrong.
“Whatever the cause of this is, Pope Francis is right to note the anti-family ethic that young people are exposed to today, whether it be in the form of economic pressures, pregnancy discrimination at work or ideological teachings in schools.
“Children contain a promise of hope, of making the world better one child at a time, whatever the challenges may be. We should all be concerned that societies around the world are losing sight of that promise.
“Indeed, it seems some politicians and pro-abortion idealogues are determined to abort hope under the false flag of ‘choice’, selling happiness but ultimately offering nothing but death.”
