Embracing a culture of life
On a recent trip to Minneapolis, my wife and I took an Uber to the airport. As we visited with the Uber driver, we discovered he was from Somalia and had four young children. After we told him that we have five adult children, we engaged in a wonderful conversation about family life. As we approached the airport, I told him how children were a blessing from God and for him to cherish his time with them. He immediately smiled as if to tell me he agreed.
The world is currently facing a demographic winter where deaths surpass births. This new reality will eventually affect social services, health care, schools, colleges and life, as we know it. The United Nations recently warned of the consequences related to the plummeting global birth rates (World Social Report, 2023), and warned that immigration may delay, but not stop the inevitable, since birth rates in most developing countries have also dropped below replacement levels.
Pope St. Paul VI foreshadowed a demographic winter. By separating human sexuality from both the unitive and procreative elements, selfishness would replace marital love, he said. The real problem concerning low birth rates is not so much its impact on the economy, social services or a slowly dying planet, but its impact on the human soul.
I believe we can reverse the demographic winter. Not simply through fear tactics or government programs, but through the eternal and never-changing teachings of the Catholic Church on families and openness to human life. A worldwide spiritual reawakening is our only hope. A reawakening of the sacrificial love of God must replace the darkness of selfishness found in the culture of death. When we embrace a culture of life, we embrace God, the author of life.
Mike Gannon
St Joseph’s Catholic Church
Milford, Iowa
