ROME — Pope Francis told industrial leaders Monday that having children is a matter of patriotism given Europe’s dramatic falling birthrate.
“The falling birth rate, combined with the rapid ageing of the population, is aggravating the situation for entrepreneurs, but also for the economy in general,” the pontiff told members of the Confindustria federation gathered in the Vatican, since “the supply of workers decreases and the pension expenditure borne by public finances increases.”
As he has done on numerous occasions, the pope denounced Europe’s demographic winter, which calls for urgent measures for the sake of society.
“It is urgent to support families and the birth rate in practice,” Francis said. “We must work on this, to get out as soon as possible from the demographic winter in which Italy and other countries live.”
“It is an ugly demographic winter, which goes against us and prevents us from this ability to grow,” he asserted. “Today having children is a matter of patriotism, to bring the country forward.”
Pope Francis holds a child during his weekly general audience in the Paul VI hall on August 31, 2022 at the Vatican. (ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty)
The pope also urged his hearers to ensure that women in the workplace are provided with every facility to be able to have children while maintaining their employment.
It happens that sometimes “a woman who is employed here or works there is afraid to get pregnant,” Francis said, “because there is a reality that as soon as her belly starts showing, they send her away.”
“No, no, you can’t get pregnant,” he dramatized.
“Please, this is a problem for working women: study it, see how to work things so that a pregnant woman can move forward, both with the child she is expecting and with work,” he urged.
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