Do you carry the outmoded stereotype of the large, happy Italian family? This is no longer true, Pat Buchanan outlines in his frightening book, The Death of the West, most Europeans are having one child, which means they are becoming extinct. Soon the nations of Europe will be completely Muslim, as immigrants take the place of Catholics in Italy, Spain, Germany and France who refuse to have more than one child. The outlook Buchanan gave is bleak, he describes the Mediterranean Sea as a lake in the midst of Islam.
Another book which touches on this is Mark Steyn's America Alone, discussed in Genevieve's post in Real Clear Religion.
The Holy Father has repeatedly begged Italians to have babies, and yesterday, over a million Italians gathered in Rome to show their support of the traditional family.
"Catholic ministers and lawmakers have not been loyal to us," Azzola said. "But family values are the core of Catholic values. If Christians in government sacrifice these, the very basis of what got them votes has crumbled."More importantly, Family Day was evidence to many parents that they "do not stand alone.""The people who came to Family Day are not the kind of people who typically demonstrate," he said. "These are people striving to build the future through their children."In addition to the high cost of living and socialist-style tax structures that make it difficult to make ends meet, Azzola said that the psychological pressure from popular culture and social policies causes many families to feel isolated. A father of three, Azzola said that he and his wife are used to comments and questions about their unusually large family: "Society as seen on television, media and advertising glorifies adultery, betrayal and Hollywood-style living. It is easy for parents to feel like they are the only ones struggling and making sacrifices for their children."
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