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Pope Benedict XVI: Europe, get busy having babies
By Stone Martindale Mar 24, 2007, 19:53 GMT
Pope Benedict XVI EPA/DANILO SCHIAVELLA
Europe's future is worrying Pope Benedict XVI. The pontiff said Saturday a statement of warning against "dangerous individualism" in the old continent, where less and less children are being born to Europeans.
"One must unfortunately note that Europe seems to be going down a road which could lead it to take its leave from history," the pontiff told bishops in Rome for ceremonies to mark the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome, a major step toward the creation of today's European Union, reported the AP.
The demographics are troublesome to the German born Pope, who would like to see a change.
The AP cites the Pope's own backyard of Italy, where many married couples have one or no children, the population is expected to shrink dramatically in a generation or two unless people get busy.
"You could almost think that the European continent is in fact losing faith in its own future," Benedict said.
According to the AP report, a Eurostat survey showed Poland's fertility rate to be the lowest in the EU, at 1.23 children per woman.
The economy is often cited by experts as the root of the problem.
Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski has proposed a program of tax exemptions and support for working mothers to have Poland "continue as a nation."
Italians and Spaniards blame shortages of day care centers, expensive housing and their economy to blame for low birth rates.
France bucks the trend, with generous government welfare programs that are family friendly, and include cheap day care and generous guaranteed paid parental leave, the Belle Pays has been experiencing a baby boom according to the AP.
France has bucked Europe's aging population trend. Its fertility rate in 2006 was 2.0 children per woman, reports the AP.
COMMENT
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Older Talkback
page: 1
Why not let priests and nuns marry, Pontiff? Then, you would actually be part of the solution.
Europe won't fade away from lack of babies. White Europeans may, but Europe will remain right where it is. Large land masses tend to do that. What worries the pro-baby people is race. Sad that anyone would bother thinking about skin color in the year 2007, but some people still do.
One wonders why a religion which appears to have operated as a gay pedofile network for some time would be interested in increasing the population of children.
8 kids minimum!!!
There is a tendancy here to blame profesional women for choosing career over family. He didn't say it but he is thinking about it. This pope comes across a guy who beleives the place of woman is in the kitchen and creating and looking after babies!!!
“Europe won't fade away from lack of babies. White Europeans may, but Europe will remain right where it is. Large land masses tend to do that. What worries the pro-baby people is race. Sad that anyone would bother thinking about skin color in the year 2007, but some people still do. “
Lou, talk about living in a dream world. If the native Europeans stay with their low birth rate then they’re going to become infidels in their own country. Anyone that would want to turn their country or culture over to Islam is literally insane.
page: 1
dez9925Mar 24th, 2007 - 21:37:59
Benedict XVI is right on the money again! He has been warning the West, and
particularly Europe of the problem for some years now. His lectures delivered
in May 2004 ended-up becoming a book, co-authored with the president of the Italian senate, Marcello Pera. The topic was also well addresses by several
writers. More recently a guy by the name Mark Steyn wrote a piece at the
Wall Street Journal's OppinionJournal entitled 'It's the Demography, Stupid
-- The real reason the West is in danger of extinction', which raises pretty
much the same issue raised here by Benedict XVI.
It was not by chance that Cardinal Ratzinger chose the name Benedict when
he was elected to the seat of Peter. Those of us who were around at the time
might remember that then Pope Paul VI proclaimed Benedict of Nursia the patron
saint of all Europe in 1964. Benedict is on a quest of sorts to save Europe, and
by extension all the rest of the world, you may say.
Incidentally, did you know that during WWII the monastery at Mount Casino --
which once housed St. Benedict and his fellow monks, and was being used by the
Germans due to its priviledged mountain top location -- was heavily shelled and bombed by the Allies? I wonder whether we would have won that war if we had the PC-conscious crowd around? I mean, if the bad guys hide in a temple (whatever
that temple maybe) and start atacking us, should we, for fear of offending some
sensibilities, let them?
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