Pope Francis Says There Is ‘Little Hope’ If Countries Don’t Adopt Policies Encouraging People To Have Children

Pope Francis lamented the declining birth rate in many countries Friday and pushed for “forward-looking policies” to encourage people to start having families, according to Vatican News.

The pope was attending the third “General States of Births” meeting in Rome on Friday to discuss the current “demographic winter” that plagues Italy and many Western nations, according to Vatican News. Francis suggested to the audience that countries should promote policies that encourage people to pro-create or there is “little hope” they won’t simply settle “for mediocre substitutes.” (RELATED: Pope Francis Compares Abortion Doctors To Hitmen In New Disney+ Special)

“We cannot passively accept that so many young people struggle to realize their family dream and are forced to lower the bar of desire, settling for mediocre substitutes: making money, aiming for a career, traveling, jealously guarding leisure time,” the pope said, according to Vatican News. “Indeed, the birth of children is the main indicator for measuring the hope of a people. If few are born, it means that there is little hope”.

UNDISCLOSED, GERMANY – AUGUST 12: An empty baby bed, which has been placed under a window by the photographer, stands in the maternity ward of a hospital (a spokesperson for the hospital asked that the hospital not be named) on August 12, 2011, in a city in the east German state of Brandenburg, Germany. [Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images]

Many countries experienced a significant drop in birth rates during the COVID-19 pandemic before slowly bouncing back. However, many countries such as China, the U.S., Japan and Italy are experiencing a shrinking birth rate, with Italy’s population dropping by 179,000.

Francis said that part of the problem is people live in a society where starting a family is a “titanic effort” and the “almost insurmountable constraints” placed on women to try and have a career and a family, according to Vatican News. He also suggested that countries be more welcoming to immigrants, saying that a “happy community naturally develops the desire to generate and integrate.”

The pope has been outspoken on this issue in the past, saying that choosing to have pets over children is a form of “selfishness,” and he encouraged young couples to consider adoptions even if they cannot have children themselves.

The Vatican did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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