All Countries Should Promote Family-friendly Policies: Pope Francis

A 2019 UNICEF study of 41 developed countries placed Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Estonia, and Portugal highest for family-friendly policies, with the United States among the lowest-ranked nations.

Members of the pontifical academy — including the Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi — were at the Vatican to attend an April 27-29 plenary meeting focused on “The family as relational good.”

The meeting was their first in-person plenary session since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

During his speech in the Vatican’s Consistory Hall, the pope noted that Italy is suffering from a demographic crisis due to its low birth rate.

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“The demographic winter is a serious matter. Here in Italy it is a serious matter compared to other countries in Europe. It cannot be left aside,” he commented.

The pope was speaking to the pontifical academy for the first time since the appointment of the body’s new chancellor, Cardinal Peter Turkson.

The Ghanaian cardinal succeeded the 79-year-old Argentine Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, who had led the institution since 1998.

The Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences was established on 1994 by Pope John Paul II “with the aim of promoting the study and progress of the social sciences, primarily economics, sociology, law and political science.”

It is based at the Casina Pio IV in the Vatican Gardens.