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.
Only because they've exported their poor to the U.S.
I know, that’s just one of the ones I have handy.
Deflecting???
You are on record for not only supporting abortion, but public funding for it based on a cost analysis of how it compares to welfare?!?!
Culture and religion can create a population density beyond a country's carrying capacity. That has nothing to do with work ethic.
I’m sorry if I implied any criticism. Sometimes these threads resemble playing “whack a mole”. It seems that the supply of pro abortion posters never ends.
The environmental argument is particularly insidious.
It’s all about Mammon for some.
And you are adding to your record of an inability to differentiate objective analysis with an agenda.
Restricting the number of children one has appears to be a fairly recent phenomena but that isn’t what creates wealth.
This country grew its fastest when people were having lots of kids.
Granted that there are likely situations where a country has outgrown its ability to supply food to its population, but that would result in starvation, not necessarily poverty.
If there are business to provide jobs, the workers work, are paid a fair wage for their work, and they are not squelched by a corrupt government, there will be economic growth.
Look at the countries in the world today, and tell me about their economic growth and their form of government or religious beliefs.
India, for example, with its caste system.
Look at what happened in South Africa when the white farmers lands were seized and *redistributed*.
Look at what happened in the Soviet Union under Lenin and Stalin when people were starving to death because of them messing with the grain production.. The standard of living was abysmal in a land of great natural resources.
The US and Australia got the poorest of the poor and societies rejects and yet made it and while the US has great natural resources, I can’t say that Australia does, and yet it’s prospered beyond many other countries who have more.
How is demonstrating that you have a pro-abortion agenda "deflecting"?
As far as "objectivity" goes, ONE MILLION BABIES ARE ABORTED EACH WEEK WORLDWIDE, that is murder and anyone who supports it is complicit in those murders. I know full well what the "objective" of the abortionists is and I want to stop them, I don't give a damn what excuses they give for the carnage.
Well said, metmom.
Not being a bunch of VooDoo worshippers, irrespective of population, would help Haiti.
“People are overall an ASSET, not a DEFICIT.”
Well, each illegal immigrant costs the US over $50k more than they contribute over their stay, on average.
I guess we are “rich with Mexicans” and that California need only tax it’s Mexicans in order to balance it’s off-kilter budget situation.
So, I suppose the pope was not referring to a financial asset.
I suppose an excess of objectivity and lack of emotion are required to argue for abortion.
Denying one’s humanity comes at a cost.
Japan, Taiwan and Singapore are all among the most densely populated countries in the world and they are all very wealthy.
Haiti shares half of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, Haiti is dirt poor while the Dominican Republic is fairly wealthy. Haiti was once the wealthiest nation in the Caribbean.
Just over fifty years ago Cuba was the wealthiest nation in the Caribbean, now they are among the poorest and their population hasn’t really changed.
The bottom line is the prosperity is about personal and economic freedom, NOT population or even natural resources.
Having abortions to reduce the population, hasn’t pulled anyone out of poverty that I’ve ever seen.
We used to live in a welfare community and those people are poor because they don’t want to work. They party, drink, do drugs, whine about the handouts they are getting, or not getting.
If those deadbeats would get off their lazy butts and work for a living, their standard of living would increase. And I know plenty of families with more kids than they have who have a higher standard of living because the father WORKS for his money.
Standard of living is not a result of size of family, but of work ethic and the Judeo-Christian belief system provides the best basis for that ethic.
It’s expected by God that a husband and father provide for his family, that an employer pay a fair wage and treat his employees well, that a worker is expected to do his best (work as unto the Lord), that one is not to cheat in dishonest business dealings (honest measure) , not charge excessive interest on debt, , steal, extort, is to help the poor when needed without expecting recompense.
It’s not population growth or family size that makes the difference.
Speaking of Haiti:
From Wiki:
Political background
Haiti is officially a semi-presidential republic, although it is often claimed to be authoritarian in practice. Suffrage is universal, for adults over 18. The constitution was modeled after those of the United States and of France. It was approved in March 1987, but it was completely suspended from June 1988 to March 1989 and was only fully reinstated in October 1994. On February 29, 2004, a rebellion culminated in a coup against the popularly elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, allegedly with the assistance of the French and United States governments; U.S. and French soldiers were on the ground in Haiti at the time, recently arrived (See controversy).[1] The first elections since the overthrow were held on February 8, 2006 to elect a new President. René Préval was declared to have won with over 50 percent of the vote. Runoff elections for legislative seats were held on April 21.
In 2008, Parliament voted to dismiss President Preval’s Prime Minister following severe rioting over food prices.[1] His selected replacement for the post was rejected by Parliament, throwing the country into a prolonged period without a government.[2] Haiti is undergoing a major food crisis as prices for food escalate.[3]
[edit]Corruption
Political corruption is a common problem in Haiti. The country has consistently ranked as one of the most corrupt nations according to the Corruption Perceptions Index, a measure of perceived political corruption. In 2006, Haiti was ranked as the most corrupt nation out of the 163 that were surveyed for the Index.[4] The International Red Cross reported that Haiti was 155th out of 159 countries in a similar survey of corrupt countries.[5]
[edit]
I’ve personally found that my standard of living and general wealth have correlated strongly with my level of obedience to God.
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