Europe trapped in ‘culture of comfort’

Europeans are resisting having children due to a culture of comfort with declining birth rates leading to increased migration, Pope Francis said in an interview released this week, writes Christopher Lamb.

“When there is an empty space, people try to fill it. If a country has no children, immigrants come in and take their place. I think of the birth rate in Italy, Portugal and Spain. I believe it is close to zero per cent,” the Pope told  the  Portuguese radio station Renascença.

“And this not wanting to have children is, partly – and this is my interpretation, it may not be correct – due to a culture of comfort, isn’t it?”