The Pope on population control and the environment. (News in Brief).

Rome--On August 21,2002, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace published a book entitled "From Stockholm to Johannesburg: An historical overview of the concern of the Holy See for the environment." Written by Sr. Marjorie Keenan, it includes excerpts from 24 Vatican documents.

In 1994, the Pope summarized the Church's position succinctly: "In defence of the human person, the Church stands opposed to the imposition of limits on family size." This was in a message to the director of the U.N. Population Fund, which the Holy Father criticized for promotion of population control with fear tactics: "All propaganda and misinformation directed at persuading couples that they must limit their family to one or two children should be steadfastly avoided, and couples that generously choose to have large families are to be supported."

The Pope compared population controllers to the Egyptian Pharaoh who ordered every male child born of a Hebrew woman to be killed. "Today not a few of the powerful of the earth act in the same way," he said. "They too are haunted by the current demographic growth and fear that the most prolific and poorest peoples represent a threat for the wellbeing and peace of their own countries.

Consequently, rather than wishing to face and solve these serious problems with respect for the dignity of individuals and families and for every person's inviolate right to life, they prefer to promote and impose by whatever means a massive programme of birth control. Even the economic help which they would be ready to give is unjustly made conditional on the acceptance of an anti-birth policy."

His solution to the problem of poverty was the sharing of resources: "Solutions must be sought on the global level by establishing true economy of communion and sharing of goods, on both the national and international level."

The documents he quoted were principally Familiaris Consortio and Evangelium vitae (LSN, Aug 22/01).