Pope Leo’s October meeting on marriage, family gains urgency amid declining birth rates in West

(OSV News) — As declining birth rates reshape the West, a global conversation on marriage and family is gaining urgency ahead of an October gathering in Rome convened by Pope Leo XIV.New data highlight the trend: U.S. births fell 1% in 2025 to about 3.6 million, while Europe’s fertility rates remain well below replacement levels.Pope Leo XIV called bishops’ conferences presidents from around the world to convene in Rome in to renew and deepen the Church’s discussion on marriage and family in light of “Amoris Laetitia” just as in much of the Western world, fewer people are marrying, and fewer are having children — with Catholic experts pointing out it’s an urgent matter to address, with the Church, especially parishes having the role to play...

Mary Eberstadt, a Catholic author, including of “Primal Screams,” social researcher, essayist and novelist, also pointed to cultural factors...