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.