Church in Mexico warns of demographic change, calls for protection of families

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ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 23, 2025 / 16:43 pm (CNA).

The Catholic Church in Mexico called on Latin American society and authorities to care for the family, emphasizing that “protecting the family is protecting the future of our society.”

In a recent editorial in its weekly publication Desde la Fe (From the Faith), the Primatial Archdiocese of Mexico City noted that the region is facing “a profound and silent demographic transformation, but at an accelerated pace, and its consequences are already being felt in the social fabric.”

The reflection is based on the study “Changes in Demographic Structures,” prepared by the Network of Latin American University Institutes on the Family, which examines new forms of family organization in the region.

According to the editorial, the report’s conclusions show that “birth rates are steadily declining, marriages are decreasing, divorces are increasing, single-person households are multiplying, and an aging population has ceased to be a distant threat and has become a palpable reality.”

Given this scenario, the archdiocese called for people to view the phenomenon not merely as a matter of numbers but as a reality “that profoundly transforms daily life, human relationships, and the very foundations of coexistence.”

“The family, understood as the primary nucleus of society, is the great protagonist — and also the greatest victim — of this transition. When bonds weaken, when loneliness replaces belonging, and when aging is not accompanied by structures of support and affection, the result is a more fragmented, more vulnerable, and less resilient society,” the editorial stated.

The archdiocese also highlighted that the data portray a region where “aging is occurring without sufficient generational offset and with increasingly fragile family ties” and warned that “the number of deaths now exceeds the number of births.”

The archdiocesan publication also warned that “without strong family structures — based on love, commitment, co-responsibility, and mutual care — the entire society deteriorates” and urged authorities to ensure that public policies “must treat the family as a social priority.”

Among the proposals, the editorial pointed to policies that “value life, that support responsible motherhood and fatherhood, that protect older adults without isolating them, that promote family reconciliation, and that strengthen ties between generations. Poverty prevention, mental health, comprehensive education, and digital inclusion cannot be designed outside the family: They must be nourished by it.”

The Archdiocese of Mexico emphasized that the demographic transition is not only a technical challenge but “a call to care for the family as a vision for the future. Today more than ever, protecting the family means protecting the future of our society.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.