Pope Francis greets children in a Rome auditorium May 14, 2021, as he opens a meeting dedicated to Italy's declining birthrate and population. (CNS photo/Vatican Media) ROME (CNS) — If families are not the priority of the present, there will be no future, Pope Francis said as he opened a meeting in Rome on Italy’s chronic decline in population growth. “For the future to be good, we must, therefore, take care of families, especially young families, who are beset by worries that risk paralyzing their life plans,” the pope said at the meeting May 14. “It is a challenge, not just for Italy, but for many countries—often rich in resources, but poor in hope,” he said.