2011-11-01 17:51:05

Earth's 7 billionth Inhabitant and Church’s Concerns


November 01, 2011: According to United Nations demographers, the world’s population topped seven billion on Monday, reports the New York Times.

However, Gerhard Heilig, chief of the population estimates and projections section of the United Nations Population Division, acknowledged that “No one can know the exact number of people on the globe.” Even the best individual government censuses have a margin of error of at least 1 percent, he said, which would translate in the global aggregation to “a window of uncertainty of six months before or six months after Oct. 31.”

According to Catholic church sources, it is time to reflect on population growth, birth control and developmental issues. One of the most striking aspects of development today is the importance of the theme of respect for life, which can in no way be separated from questions concerning the development of peoples. This is an issue which force us to broaden our concept of poverty and underdevelopment connected with the acceptance of life.

In economically developed countries, legislation contrary to life is very widespread. Promoting anti-birth mentality has become a norm and practice. Further grounds for concern are laws permitting euthanasia as well as national and international pressure from groups claiming the legal recognition.
Openness to life is at the center of true development. When a society moves towards the denial or suppression of life, it ends up no longer finding the motivation and energy necessary to strive for the true good of man.

Catholic church sources maintained that the notion of rights and duties in development must also take account of the problems associated with population growth. This is a very important aspect of authentic development, since it concerns the inalienable values ​​of life and the family. The Church, which has at heart the true development of man, tells him the full respect for human values ​​in sexual activity: it cannot be reduced merely to pleasure or entertainment, as well as sex education cannot be reduced to technical instruction, with the only concern to defend the interested parties from any infection or the "risk" of procreation. This is irresponsible to view sexuality merely as a source of pleasure, and to regulate it through policies of forced family planning.








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