Pope criticizes condom industry at pro-natal conference: ‘there is no shortage of dogs and cats in homes, there is a shortage of children’ | World

Pope Francis criticized this Friday (10) the contraceptive industry, which he accused of destroying or preventing life.

The criticism was made during a speech at a conference in Rome on the demographic crisis that is ravaging Italy and Europe. The pontiff also condemned the weapons industry.

“There is a fact that a demography scholar told me. At the moment, the investments that generate the most revenue are weapons factories and contraceptives. One destroys life, the other prevents life… What future do we have? It’s ugly” , said the pope.

Staunch opponent of the arms industry, Francisco also reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s long-standing ban on artificial birth controlalthough support natural ways to avoid pregnancy.

“Some think, excuse me if I use the word, that To be good Catholics, we have to be like rabbits, but not” he said during a flight back from the Philippines in 2015, adding that the Church promotes “responsible fatherhood.”

In the last decade, the Europe’s fertility rate remained at around 1.5 births per woman. The level is above the East Asian average, but far below the 2.1 needed to maintain the continent’s population levels.

The baby shortage is particularly acute in Italy, where births fell to a record low in 2023, the 15th consecutive annual decline. So far, successive governments have failed to reverse the trend despite repeated promises.

At the Rome conference, Francis said that the number of births was the first indicator of “the hope of a people”, and that the Europe was increasingly turning into an “old, tired and resigned” continent.

“Homes are full of objects and emptied of children, becoming very sad places. There is no shortage of puppies, cats, no shortage of children,” declared the pontiff.

Governments need to implement “serious and effective” policies in favor of families to deal with the issue, Francisco said, calling on young people to have confidence in the future.

He called for policies that mean mothers don’t have to choose between work and childcare, and that give young couples the chance for stable employment and the ability to buy a home.

“I know that for many of you the future may seem unsettling and that amid declining birth rates, wars, pandemics and climate change, it is not easy to keep hope alive. But don’t give up, have faith,” he said, referring to young people.

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