The UN Reports A Decline In Birth Rate

 

The UN Population Fund released the State of World Population report. Birth rates are declining globally based on their data. The focus of the UN Population Fund was on reproductive rights, women's health, making every pregnancy wanted, and women's rights. To a degree, a contradiction exists. The emphasis on women having children tends to be more anti-woman. The countries with the highest fertility rates tend to have women who do get access to an equal amount of education. The United Nations makes it appear as a crisis. The world population is larger than it was a century ago. The report did a survey that only used 14 countries. The UNPFA had a survey sample of 14,000 people. The countries that were part of the report included Thailand, South Korea, Italy, Hungary, Germany, Sweden, Brazil, Nigeria, India, Morocco, Mexico, US, South Africa, Germany, and Indonesia. Some reported wanting to have children, but financial security was an obstacle. Women cited in the report that unequal domestic division of labor as a reason for not having children. The lack of employment security, warfare, and environmental concerns were also reasons for subjects not wanting to have children. The contemporary period provides no benefit to being a parent. While underpopulation can be an issue for certain nations, overpopulation is more precarious. Few jobs, limited access to healthcare, and education create an atmosphere of conflict. The world does not have the capacity to take care of billions of people. The UN report sounds more like an advocation for natalism. This connects to many conservative circles that see declining birthrate as nations weakening. Besides the economic factors related to birthrate decline, culture is one. A growing number of women do not want to marry, be in a relationship, or have children. A portion of men are unable to establish any form of relationship with women. Men just might not want to be fathers. The report is misleading because of the sample size and the few countries selected for the survey. The declining birth rate is not a crisis. Nations with aging populations must consider solutions to demographic challenges.  

The Death of Pope Francis

 

Pope Francis has died at the age of 88. Under his leadership there was an attempt at making reforms to the Catholic Church. Pope Francis spoke about the need to take climate change seriously, compassion for refugees, and advocated acceptance of LGBTQ individuals. The question remains whether these were genuine changes in thought or had ulterior motives in mind. The real purpose of these positions and reforms are designed to keep the Catholic Church relevant. The youth are not going to be as religious as older generations. Overtime, organized religion could lose influence. The positions that Pope Francis took were about trying to recruit younger members to the Catholic Church. The problem is that tradition and social conservatism is not appealing to the vast majority of the public. Pope Francis did not approve of same sex marriage, abortion, or ordaining women as priests. Social conservatism remains a part of the papacy's worldview, even though some modest liberal reforms are experimented with. The mythical image of Pope Francis is a champion of leftist thought and humanitarianism. His convictions could not be classified as liberation theology. Just like other popes, Francis did little to stop the extensive sexual abuse of children in the Catholic Church. Failure to acknowledge women's reproductive rights or stopping criminal action undermines the claim of a humanitarian pope. Pope Francis was elected pope in 2013. The 11 years of modest reform could possibly be reversed. The Pope Francis era has come to an end and the Vatican will see a new administration.