The Vatican Inaugurates a Birth Rate Bonus

The Governorate Palace of Vatican City
Pope Francis has decided to financially encourage Vatican employees to have more than two children. A measure that has not always borne the expected fruits elsewhere in Europe, as it is true that the birth rate crisis goes beyond the financial aspect alone, even if the latter is far from negligible.
"Europeans are committing suicide by lowering the birth rate," wrote Raymond Aron in his Memoirs. In a press release published on January 15, 2025, on its website, the governorate of the Vatican City State announced that the families of employees of the smallest state in the world with at least three children would now receive a bonus of €300 per month.
It is a financnail boost that will be granted until dependent children reach the age of majority – set at 18 by Church law – or until the end of their cycle of study, provided that their legal guardians furnish documents certifying their child's enrollment in a university or equivalent cycle begun at the end of their secondary studies.
In all cases, the Vatican specifies that the payment of the bonus will cease from the moment dependent children reach the age of 24. In addition, while until now, paternity leave gave the right to three days of paid leave, Pope Francis has decided to extend it to five days in the event of the arrival of a new child in the household.
According to the Roman communiqué, these changes are the result of a "personal initiative of the Holy Father" and were transmitted to the president of the governorate, Cardinal Fernando Vergez Alzaga during a private audience on December 19. The Pope had then specified that he wanted this bonus to be put in place immediately for all employees concerned.
This bonus, designed and implemented by Pope Francis, resonates particularly in France, at a time when an INSEE report has just discussed the worrying drop in the birth rates. The situation is no better in Italy; far from it.
Because in the Peninsula, between 2008 and 2022, births fell by 68%. In 2022, the country experienced 719,000 deaths for 393,000 births, or 1.81 deaths for 1 birth. If the decline in the Italian birth rate continues, there will soon be two deaths for every birth in Italy, a country which, in about 10 years, has lost 1.5 million inhabitants.
We can better understand why Pope Francis applauded the number of young people he met during his tour of Asia last September, particularly praising East Timor, a young state in every sense of the word, where those under 18 represent almost half of the population.
The pope was even enthusiastic during his recent Corsican visit: "I would like to emphasize one thing: have you seen the number of children? Think of other trips where you have not seen them," declared Pope Francis. Corsica - unlike East Timor - is nevertheless the region of France with the lowest birth rate.
Will the financial measure decreed by the Pope convince Vatican employees to have more children? It is not a foregone conclusion, especially we look at Hungary’s example with a similar policy. The country is struggling to raise its fertility rate above 1.5%.
A study published by the Financial Times on January 10, 2025, links the decline in the birth rate to the failure of the traditional family model, which has suffered from the progressive policies of recent decades and the digital revolution that tends to crush the basic notions of conjugal charity, commitment, and self-sacrifice.
(Sources : Financial Times/Servizio Informazione Religiosa – FSSPX.Actualités)
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