From the 1998 Inside the Vatican
Special Supplement on Humanae Vitae
PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR THE FAMILY
Declaration on the Decrease of Fertility in the World
The truth about current demographic trends cannot be denied any longer. It is increasingly evident and ever more widely acknowledged that the world is engaged in a marked demographic decline, which started around the year 1968. In 51 countries, fertility is already below replacement level. The number of deaths per year is even higher than the number of births in 15 of these countries. It is urgent to increase the general knowledge of these trends. A true solidarity must be forged without delay, boldly facing the future and mindful of the Declaration of Human Rights whose 50th anniversary is commemorated this year.
1. BEING ATTENTIVE TO DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS
2. A COMMON VOCABULARY: WIDESPREAD, SIMPLISTIC, AND ERRONEOUS
3. DEMOGRAPHIC DECREASE AND THE AGEING OF POPULATIONS
6. CELEBRATING MAN AND HIS RIGHTS
4. Familia et Vita, Anno II, n. 1, 1997, pp. 3-137.
8. J-Cl. Chesnais, Determinants of Below-Replacement Fertility, p. 12.
16. Pope John Paul II, Encyclical Centesimus Annus, 1991, n. 39.