In the general audience, the Pope returns to talk about the decline in births, a real "demographic winter". "Many couples don't have children because they don't want one or more", said Bergoglio, but they have "dogs and cats that take the place of children".

"This denial of motherhood and fatherhood - continued the Pontiff - diminishes us, takes away humanity, civilization becomes older and without humanity because the richness of fatherhood and motherhood is lost. And the homeland that has no children suffers".

The Pope then quoted a person who said: "Now who will pay the taxes for my pension that there are no children?". "I ask St. Joseph - he continued in the catechesis dedicated to the 'putative father' of Jesus - for the grace of awakening consciences and thinking about this: having children, motherhood and fatherhood is the fullness of a person's life".

Generating children or adopting, he then added, "is a risk but more risky is not having them, denying motherhood and paternity". "A man who does not develop a sense of motherhood is missing something," he concluded.

So an appeal to the institutions to simplify the process for adoptions. "We must not be afraid to choose the path of adoption, to take the 'risk' of acceptance". "I hope that the institutions will always be ready to help in this sense of adoption, taking care seriously but also simplifying the process necessary so that the dream of many little ones who need a family can come true, and of many spouses who wish to give themselves in the 'love".

(Unioneonline / vl)

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