Pope Francis said on Thursday that falling birth rates in developed countries is a “social emergency” and the inability to have children is a form of “poverty”.

The remarks were made in a message to the second edition of the Estates General of Natality, an event held in Rome created to discuss ways to combat the depopulation trend in Italy.

“The problem of birth rates represents a real social emergency. Like other problems that occupy the news, it is not immediately noticeable, but very urgent: fewer and fewer children are being born and that means impoverishing everyone’s future. Italy, Europe and the West will be impoverished in the future,” he said.

According to Francis, there is an “existential and less ostentatious environment” in the West that brings together “men and women who want to have children but cannot”.

“Many young families struggle to fulfill their dreams, so they lower their standards of desire and settle for mediocre substitutes like work, car, travel, jealous protection of leisure… The beauty of a family rich in children takes risks. to a utopia, a hard-to-reach. become a dream,” he added.

“This is a new poverty that frightens me. The productive poverty of those who share the desire for happiness in their hearts, those who are left to water their greatest longings, and those who are content with less. Yes, it is a tragic poverty because it affects people in their greatest wealth: conveying the wealth received by giving life to the world with love,” he said.

Jorge Bergoglio also said that ignoring the problem of falling birth rates is “short-sighted” and that “concrete policies to strengthen the family” should be implemented.

Last November, the National Institute of Statistics (Istat), a type of IBGE in Italy, published a study showing that the country’s population could decline by 20% over the next five years to reach 47.6 million by 2070. 59.6 million.