Saint Gertrude Parish - Lasne

9. Looking to the future with hope also means having an enthusiastic vision of life to pass on. Unfortunately, we must sadly acknowledge that in many situations, this vision is lacking. The first consequence is the loss of the desire to pass on life. Due to frenetic lifestyles, fears about the future, a lack of job security and adequate social protections, and social models where the pursuit of profit, rather than the care of relationships, dictates the agenda, several countries are experiencing a worrying decline in birth rates. Conversely, in other contexts, "blaming population growth, rather than the extreme and selective consumerism of some, is a way of avoiding confronting the problems." [5]