Pope sees tragedy in lack of births
Photo AFP, Filippo Monteforte
Southern Europe
According to Pope Francis, the low birth rates in Italy and the rest of the Western world are a "tragedy" and a "serious problem".
The head of the Catholic Church said so at the midday prayer on Sunday, in St. Peter's Square. There, Catholics celebrated the feast of the Holy Family. This is reported by the Austrian Catholic news agency Kathpress.
"It seems that many have lost the desire to have children and many couples prefer to have no or only one child," said the head of the Catholic Church. He added that this development causes him "real worries" because it is directed "against our families, against our home and even against our future".
The birth rate in Italy has hit an all-time low. According to a recently published evaluation by the national statistics agency Istat, the average number of children per Italian woman in 2020 was 1.17. The downward trend is reported to have continued in 2021. According to experts, one reason for this is the effects of the pandemic. This writes the Austrian Christian news website Religion.
Furthermore, the Pope criticized "excessive selfishness" in family and society in his speech. In order to preserve harmony, the "dictatorship of the self" must be fought, he said on Sunday. "Every day in the family, we have to learn to listen to and understand one another." However, this does not work if "we concentrate on our own needs instead of taking care of others".
Sunday was not the first time that the head of the Catholic church warned for the lack of births. In May, the Pope warned for a "demographic winter". Back then, he said that "a society which does not welcome life, stops to live".
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