130 yrs on, Pope addresses Italian Assembly

In his landmark address to a joint session, the 82-year-old Pope spoke of burning problems facing the country, much of which was ruled by his predecessors until Italy’s unification in 1870.

Speaking in a strong voice, he urged Italians to have more children in order to turn around one of the world’s lowest birth rates.

He mentioned the plight of the unemployed, decried what he saw as moral decay fed by the media, and called for reductions of sentences to deal with a population explosion in prisons.

The Pope also appealed to Europe to maintain its Christian roots as it embarks on an enlargement process that will include his native Poland.

Until the mid-19th century, the Catholic Church ruled a large swathe of Italy. The Papal states were lost in 1860 and Papacy had to give up Rome 10 years later when troops of King Emmanuel moved into the capital.

Popes considered themselves ‘‘prisoners of the Vatican’’ until 1929 when the 108 acres of Vatican City, the only territory that remained of the Papal States, became a sovereign city-state.

The fact that more than 130 years had to pass before a Pope could address Parliament underlined the fact that many Italians still view the Church’s influence on their lives with suspicion.

Speaking in the building that housed the Papacy’s law courts until the mid-19th century, the Polish Pope offered Italians a catalogue of the problems of today’s society.

He urged the government to enact pro-family policies to turn around the decline in the birth rate, calling for a ‘‘broad and responsible commitment to favour a clear-cut reversal’’.

The Pontiff, whose 40-minute speech was interrupted 22 times by applause, called for ‘‘political initiatives … to make the task of having children and bringing them up less burdensome both socially and economically’’.

The Pope in the past has often called for social wages for women who would prefer to stay at home to raise children but are forced to work to help maintain their families. (Reuters)