Addressing EU lawmakers, Pope laments abortion, says family is founded on marriage between a man and a woman

May 25, 2026

Pope Leo XIV received members of the European Parliament’s Intergroup on Demography and linked the continent’s demographic crisis to the rejection of the Christian vision associated with the founding of European institutions after World War II.

The Pontiff also lamented abortion and said that the family is “founded on marriage between a man and a woman.”

“We can see that a rejection of the Christian inspiration of the founding fathers of the EU institutions has led to a time of drastic sterility, not only because too many have been deprived of the right to be born, but also because there has been a failure to pass on the material and cultural tools that young people need to face the future,” Pope Leo said during the audience, which took place this morning in Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace.

As a result, “we are not infrequently faced with the contradictory claims of purportedly family-friendly policies, which simultaneously promote discrimination against motherhood, exalt abortion as a right, and undermine the very foundation of the desire to start a family,” the Pope continued.

Observing that “the demographic challenge stands as a crucial juncture for the anthropological, social and economic future of Europe,” the Pope said that “at the heart of these pressing challenges, and the key to providing solutions, lie the fundamental dignity of all persons and the role of the family in society.”

He explained:

As Saint John Paul II reminded us, the family is “the first and irreplaceable school of social life” (Familiaris Consortio, 43) and is founded on marriage between a man and a woman, a reality that unites the personal and public dimensions. In light of this, your discussions are also tasked with fostering the shared responsibility and active role of families in social, political, and cultural life. For only by respecting and promoting this central place of the family, and applying the principle of subsidiarity, is it possible to avoid the two extremes of excessive State intervention and individualism.

“his approach is not a matter of returning to social models of the past, but of providing the men and women of our time with the unchanging principles that can surely guide them in answering the fundamental questions asked in every age,” Pope Leo added, as he spoke of the “impetus Christians are bringing to the European project, so that policies look to human persons in their entirety and always promote the dignity of human beings. In this way, a genuinely human path can be opened for resolving the demographic crisis, oriented toward the common good, and the wellbeing of future generations. Indeed, only a fresh springtide for the family can transform the winter chill of our aging populations!”

The European Commissioner for the Mediterranean, the Italian Minister for Family, Natality and Equal Opportunities, and the OSCE Special Representative on Demographic Change and Security were also present at the audience.

 

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Further information:

• To Members of the Demography Intergroup of the European Parliament (Dicastery for Communication - Vatican Media, 5/25/26)
• Audience with members of the Demography Intergroup of the European Parliament (Holy See Press Office, 5/25/26)