Pope urges Italians to have more babies to tackle low birth rate

Francis is expected to continue emphasising his demographic call during the upcoming 2025 Holy Year, which has hope as its main theme.

Pope Francis continued his campaign on Friday to urge Italians to have children, calling for long-term policies to help families and warning that the country’s demographic crisis was threatening the future.

“The number of births is the first indicator of the hope of a people,” Francis told an annual gathering of pro-family groups.