At an annual gathering of pro-family organizations on Friday, May 12, 2023, Pope Francis and Italy’s Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni encouraged Italians to have more children.
The Pope called for tangible political action to upend the “demographic winter,” which in population terms resulted in the disappearance of a city the size of Bari last year.
“Let us not resign ourselves to sterile dullness and pessimism. Let us not believe that history is already marked, that nothing can be done to reverse the trend.”
Pope Francis
In his remarks, the Pontiff opined that the declining birth rate indicated a lack of hope in the future, with younger generations burdened by a sense of uncertainty, fragility and precariousness. “Difficulty in finding a stable job, sky-high rents and insufficient wages are real problems,” he said.
In rebuke to couples who have pets instead of children, Francis called for resources to be dedicated to helping couples grow their families, saying it was necessary to “plant the future” with hope. Whiles warning that pets were replacing children in some households, Pope Francis narrated how a woman had opened her bag and asked him to “bless her baby”. However, it was not a baby, but a small dog.
“I lost my patience and told her off: there are many children who are hungry, and you bring me a dog?” the Pope added, prompting a round of applause from the crowd.
Italy has one of the lowest fertility rates in the EU and births dropped below 400,000 last year; the country recorded 392,598 births and an elevated number of 713,499 deaths. Birth rates have plummeted in many countries such as Japan, South Korea, Puerto Rico and Portugal.
However, low population growth is a major concern for Italy. The country could lose almost a fifth of its residents by 2050. At the same time, the population is ageing quickly – the number of centenarians in Italy has tripled over the last 20 years.
Experts claim that the population crisis will lead to the impoverishment of the nation. Economy Minister, Giancarlo Giorgetti stated that by 2042, Italy’s declining birthrate would end up slashing its gross domestic product (GDP) by 18%.
Pope Francis urged politicians to find “forward-looking solutions to avoid Italy degenerating into sadness.”
A National Emergency
Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of the country, disclosed that Italy’s plummeting birth rate “is a national emergency.”
“Fixing the problem is an absolute priority. We want Italy to go back to having a bright future,” Meloni said.
“We want a nation where it is no longer scandalous to say that; whatever the legitimate, free choices, inclinations of each person, we are all born of a man or a woman.
“Where it is not taboo to say that motherhood is not for sale, that wombs are not for rent and children are not over-the-counter products that you can choose on the shelf as if you were in the supermarket and maybe return if then the product does not match what you expect.”
Giorgia Meloni
Several studies have revealed a number of issues that discourage women from having children; Young people struggle to find stable jobs and the childcare support system is often inadequate, which makes it hard for mothers to manage work and family life.
Also, according to the charity, Save the Children, six out of 10 mothers do not have access to nurseries. Many pregnant women are forced to resign, and some get sacked when they get pregnant.
Meloni came to power last year on a pro-family campaign of “God, family, fatherland” and her government has suggested a host of measures to try to encourage families to have more children.
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