Posted on 02/09/2010 3:54:56 PM PST by wagglebee
NEW YORK, February 9, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - As nations around the world are beginning to feel the effects of plummeting birth rates, the Vatican’s representative to the United Nations has stressed that population growth is the key to overcoming poverty. Speaking before the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, Archbishop Celestino Migliore said, “too often population growth is viewed as the cause of poverty whereas it is a means of overcoming it, for only within the work force can the solution for poverty be found.”
The archbishop explained: “where economic growth rates have declined, the answers lie not in trying to close society to others and pushing for population decline but rather in creating a society which is open to and encourages life.” He added, “Promoting life and the family and finding ways to integrate the contribution of all people will allow societies to realize their full potential and achieve development.”
While population control was pushed at the Copenhagen summit on climate change and is still funded in the billions by the world’s elite, population control measures have largely been discredited as a valid means of reducing poverty.
University of Calgary political scientist Tom Flanagan recently spoke of the “now discredited theory that poverty in the Third World is based on overpopulation,” in comments to the National Post. “I don’t think any serious scholar believes that anymore,” he added.
The Vatican push against population control measures was raised by the pope last year. In his World Day of Peace message for January 1, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI deplored the "international campaigns afoot to reduce birth-rates, sometimes using methods that respect neither the dignity of the woman, nor the right of parents to choose responsibly how many children to have; graver still, these methods often fail to respect even the right to life."
Smashing any appeal to undertake population control in the name of alleviating poverty, the pope added: "The extermination of millions of unborn children, in the name of the fight against poverty, actually constitutes the destruction of the poorest of all human beings."
In his message, the Pope brought demographic evidence to defend his views. "Nor must it be forgotten that, since the end of the Second World War, the world's population has grown by four billion, largely because of certain countries that have recently emerged on the international scene as new economic powers, and have experienced rapid development specifically because of the large number of their inhabitants. Moreover, among the most developed nations, those with higher birth-rates enjoy better opportunities for development.
"In other words, population is proving to be an asset, not a factor that contributes to poverty," the pope concluded.
Hear hear, the Vatican got it right with this one.
People are overall an ASSET, not a DEFICIT.
“the effects of a high population in Ca :(”
The problems of California are not due to its population. They are due to its socialism.
In nevada they are having a water shortage as well as Ca its due to overpopulation
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread100757/pg1
http://www.alternet.org/water/143902/california’s_water_crisis_is_just_the_beginning_for_water_woes_in_the_u.s.?page=entire
Haiti and Bangladesh show the evils of corruption and socialism.
Not population.
If that were so, highly populated nations would be poor, low population nations would be wealthy.
Most populous nations:
China
India
US
Indonesia
Brazil
Pakistan
Bangladesh
Nigeria
Russia
Japan
List of wealthies nations:
US
Japan
China
Germany
France
UK
Italy
Russia
Spain
Brazil
If higher populations = poverty, why are five countries on BOTH lists????
No,, the water shortage in CA is due to poor planning and environmental naziism.
what about nevada? they dont have enviro nazis there
Also please see my list of the most populous vs. the wealthiest nations. Why are the five of the wealthiest nations also the most populous if population = poverty?
Not being too aware of Nevada’s politics, I can’t reply. I won’t pretend to know why they have a water problem EXCEPT
that it is mostly desert? And so there is not enough water there for everybody.
SO if they want a bunch of people there they need to compensate for that and I guess they have not?
Here is the bio sketch of the author of the piece:
Susan J. Marks is an award-winning journalist with more that 30 years experience. Her new book, Aqua Shock, sounds the alarm for states throughout the U.S., warning that water is a shrinking resource and is threatened by contaminants, overdevelopment, water overuse, rising population, climate change, antiquated infrastructure and outdated water-treatment plants.
Here are some of the other stories that AlterNet treats as "news":
Im sorry but Ive been to mexico to see the ugly consequences of overpopulation
Overpopulation: Reasons and Consequences
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/11913/overpopulation_reasons_and_consequences.html
The Effects of Overpopulation
http://davidlateu.blogspot.com/2009/10/dailly-assignment-effects-of.html
What are consequences of over population in india?
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070622032136AAvx833
Some users have taken stories from alternet I honestly dont remember but who but I have seen it on FR! Sorry for the first link I admit I made a mistake
Population has NOTHING to do with economic repression troll.
Again, you are posting links to climate change wackos. You are a TROLL.
It’s not population or population growth that is what causes poverty, it’s culture and religion.
Societies which value human life and have moral standards and integrity in their work ethic and treatment of others, will produce wealth.
The nations which have the highest standard of living, the best education and health care system, and the most innovation and progress are by and large predominantly Christian nations.
AMEN!
If you don’t believe this move to the mid-west and see how the economy is in negative growth areas.
I believe that following the various Plagues which reduced Europe's population, also increased the living standards for the survivors?
Population growth is a means of overcoming poverty...PROVIDED THE ECONOMY PROVIDES AMPLE OPPORTUNITIES. And provided natural resources are plentiful.
An atrophied economy coupled with a robust population growth rate is not a good combination. In such a situation where human lives are the most plentiful resource, human lives will necessarily become the lowest value commodity.
Drug cartels are destroying life in Mexico. To blame overpopulation is nonsense. Blame the drug cartels for wrecking Mexico. (this is for the troll).
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