ROME — Pope Francis decried Italy’s “demographic winter” Friday, lamenting it has the lowest birthrate in Europe, a continent already known for its low natality.
“For years Italy has the lowest number of births in Europe, which is becoming the old continent not only because of its glorious history, but because of its advanced age,” the pope told a meeting of the General States of Birth.
“Every year in this country of ours, it is as if a city with more than two hundred thousand inhabitants were to disappear,” he added, and in 2020 it “reached the lowest number of births since national unification,” which took place in 1871.
This drop was “due not only to COVID, but also due to a continuous and progressive downward tendency, an increasingly harsh winter,” the pope said.
In his address, Francis thanked organizers for their interest in this vital issue and for having mobilized companies, banks, culture, the media, sports and entertainment.
“The data say that most young people want to have children,” he said, “but their dreams of life — buds of rebirth of the country — collide with a still cold and dark demographic winter.”
“How many families have had to work overtime during these months, dividing their homes between work and school, with parents acting as teachers, computer technicians, operators, and psychologists!” he said. “And how many sacrifices are asked of grandparents, the true lifeboats of families!”
The pontiff also highlighted the particular needs of women, who often have to face both economic costs and labor issues when raising children.
We must take care of families, Francis said, “especially young women, beset by worries that run the risk of paralyzing their life projects.”
“With sadness, I think of women who at work are discouraged from having children or who have to hide their belly. How can a woman have to be ashamed of the most beautiful gift life can offer?” he asked.
“Not women, but society should be ashamed, because a society that does not embrace life stops living,” he retorted. “Children are the hope that bring rebirth to people!”
The pope also praised a recent law enacted in Italy that will offer families subsidies for each child born.
“I express my gratitude to the authorities and I hope that this subsidy responds to the real needs of families, who have made and are making so many sacrifices,” he said, and that it will “mark the beginning of social reforms that put children and families at the center.”
“A child is the greatest gift to all and is above all,” Francis said. “Just as a child is expected and loved before it sees the light, we must give priority to children if we want to see the light again after this long winter.”
“Let us help each other, dear friends, to rediscover the value of giving, the value of choosing life,” he said.
“Without birth, there is no future,” he concluded.