Anyone Else Detect an Undercurrent of Racism Here?
There are over 1.1 billion Catholics in the world. The lion’s share of those are in South and Central America, where religious observance is high, abortion is often illegal, and rates of birth control use are low. And the Pope isn’t to happy about that. The New York Times reported the other day that the Pope, in a visit to Vienna, called on politicians to help reverse declining birthrates there and in other European countries:
Benedict stressed demographics as he repeated, in a strong multifront attack, the Vatican’s long-held opposition to abortion.
“I appeal, then, to political leaders not to allow children to be considered as a form of illness,” he said in his native German to a gathering of diplomats. “I say this out of concern for humanity. But that is only one side of this disturbing problem.
“The other is the need to do everything possible to make European countries once again open to welcoming children,” he added, in this nation with a low birthrate. “Encourage young married couples to establish new families and to become mothers and fathers! You will not only assist them, but you will benefit society as a whole.”
He further said that children should not “be considered a form of illness.” We can all recognize that birthrates in Europe are declining. Italy’s birthrate is at an all-time low. And religious observance is on the wane in countries that have long been among the most staunchly Catholic in the world. The Pope is right to say that Catholicism “profoundly shaped the [European] continent.”
But what makes me uncomfortable is what he said next: that Europe’s embracing of legalized abortion and rejection of Catholic teachings regarding birth control could threaten the continent’s existence, leaving a world where Catholicism predominates not in traditionally white European countries but in Latin American countries that are devout in the way Europe used to be.
While praying in the shadows of Vienna’s holocaust memorial, the Pope called out abortion as the threat to European humanity. Might that have been a good moment to talk instead about the horrors of genocide, and perhaps to bring up Rwanda or Darfur? Or to highlight the importance of universal healthcare in healing the ill and ensuring a society that respects its citizens? Seems to me like a real missed opportunity.
(h/t Sheila)
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:50 pm
I agree with you that the pope’s statements are both racist and a missed opportunity for much-needed activism. I thought I’d also mention one of the results of the Catholic Church’s stringent anti-abortion policy in at least one country (and I suspect there is a similar dynamic elsewhere). When studying in Brazil this summer, I learned that despite strict anti-abortion laws pressed by the Catholic Church (abortion in Brazil is illegal except in the case of rape or to save the mother’s life) their abortion rate is much higher than in the U.S.- in Brazil, approximately 1/3 of all pregnancies end in abortion! The result is a very high maternal mortality rate in part due to unsafe self-induced abortion.
October 11th, 2007 at 5:52 am
Birth rates in Europe are low in those countries where mothers have a hard time finding jobs. In countries that encourage working motherhood, like Sweden, Norway, and France, birth rates are rising and nearing replacement levels. How legal or illegal abortion is doesn’t change anything - Poland and Portugal share Spain and Italy’s low birth rates, while Ireland shares France’s high birth rates.
March 10th, 2008 at 11:28 am
I couldn’t understand some parts of this article Anyone Else Detect an Undercurrent of Racism Here?, but I guess I just need to check some more resources regarding this, because it sounds interesting.