Childless Europe must choose whether to be Nehemiah or Babel
Published on 11 June 2026 in the Italian newspaper Avvenire
The demographic challenge reminds us that the future is not built only in institutional buildings, but above all in families and living communities.
Leo XIV’s address on May 25 at the audience with members of the European Parliament’s Intergroup on Demography was the first by this pontiff on this topic and the first addressed to a group of politicians dedicated to a crucial issue for the future of Europe. His words made it clear that the demographic crisis is not merely an economic or statistical problem solvable through immigration policies or productivist approaches (such as increasing the working age or a more efficient use of technology, including artificial intelligence), but a challenge to the type of society the continent wants to build. As the Pontiff recalled, children are the future; declining birth rates, loneliness, and the loss of intergenerational solidarity represent one of the principal obstacles to integral human development. For this reason, the Pope recalled the principle of subsidiarity and the active role of families and communities. This reflection finds continuity in the encyclical Magnifica Humanitas (7-10). In it, two examples of societies are contrasted. On the one hand, Babel: unity sought through uniformity and control, where communion is replaced by standardization; everyone must speak, think, and pursue the same goals set by a center of power. This apparent and fragile unity arises from imposition, not free adherence, thus confusing communion and conformity, cooperation and control. On the other hand, Nehemiah, who rebuilds the walls of Jerusalem by involving families and communities, valorizing their responsibility and diversity. Here, unity arises from participation, not imposition. Institutions do not replace individuals and communities, but rather support their contribution to the common good, creating the conditions for each to express their vocation. Even the future (not only demographic) of Europe depends on the choice between these two examples of society. Families cannot be seen as passive recipients of policies, but as protagonists, capable of generating relationships, education, solidarity, and hope. When a society loses trust in families, it loses trust in the future.
This is why the response to the demographic crisis cannot be limited to economic measures. We also need a cultural and political vision that restores the centrality of the individual, motherhood, fatherhood, community networks, and intergenerational solidarity. Institutions, as in the experience of Nehemiah, must promote these realities without replacing them, much less hindering them. The principle of subsidiarity implies a proper distribution of powers between the European Union and Member States. Family policies are primarily the responsibility of national communities, which best understand needs, traditions, and priorities. The Union can and must empower them through the tools at its disposal—starting with funds for social and territorial cohesion—by rewarding birth rates and family stability. It must not, however, impose uniform cultural or anthropological models, falling into the temptation of Babel. In the past, European institutions have too often given the impression of wanting to guide family decisions according to predetermined ideological patterns, distancing themselves from subsidiarity and respect for diverse traditions. The same principle must guide European economic and fiscal decisions. Member States’ budgetary rules are not neutral: they express a specific vision of development. If the family is the primary generative agent of society, demographic policies cannot be considered merely as expenditure. Investing in children means investing in the human, social, and relational capital on which the sustainability of welfare, economic growth, and the democratic stability of Europe depend. It is paradoxical that in the European debate, certain items (such as rearmament) are considered strategic investments, while birth rates, family development, and the education of new generations are primarily accounted for as costs. A society that invests in what it defends but not in what generates the future loses its sense of priorities.
In a time of geopolitical tensions, economic crises, and cultural transformations, the temptation to seek uniform solutions is strong. However, as Pope Leo XIV reminds us, authentic unity does not arise from standardization. A Europe that seeks to standardize risks weakening the very richness of traditions, cultures, intermediate bodies, and communities that constitute its true strength. The alternative is a Europe of communion, as desired by De Gasperi, Schuman, and Adenauer, commemorated by the Holy Father on May 25, for whom diversity was a resource, not a threat. In this Europe, families are protagonists, not simply groups of individuals to be assisted. Where local communities are valued; where politics accompanies and supports, rather than directs and standardizes. Without communion, unity is lost. And when unity dissolves, dispersion, conflict, and nationalisms emerge. The demographic challenge reminds us that Europe’s future is not built solely within institutional buildings, but above all within families and vibrant communities that generate relationships, education, solidarity, and hope every day.
Vincenzo Bassi
President of Catholic Family Associations in Europe
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https://www.avvenire.it/idee-e-commenti/leuropa-senza-figli-scelga-se-essere-neemia-o-babele_109537
