Pope makes historic visit to Italian parliament

ROME -- Pope John Paul II made a historic speech to Italy's parliament Thursday, urging Italians to work for world peace, uphold their Christian values and have more babies.

The visit -- the first time a pope has appeared before the Italian parliament -- underscored the warmth that the country feels for the Polish-born John Paul, the first non-Italian pontiff in 455 years.

It also showed that Italy and the Roman Catholic Church have healed the wounds that a century ago prompted popes to call themselves "prisoners" of the Vatican rather than accept Italy's government as legitimate.

The pope referred to the once-strained relations but said the bonds were now strong. He said Italy's very identity "would be most difficult to understand without reference to Christianity, its lifeblood."

However, the visit was not without opposition. A few deputies said they wouldn't attend to underscore that Italy remains a secular country, and a dozen or so gay activists protested at a nearby piazza.

The speech had an unexpected outcome: A fugitive Mafia boss turned himself in after being inspired by the pope's comments on family values, said his lawyer, Roberto Tricoli. In September, Benedetto Marciante was convicted in absentia and sentenced to 30 years in prison for homicide and Mafia association, Tricoli said.

The pope, 82, covered most of the general topics he has addressed in his 24-year pontificate, including respect for the dignity of man, democracy, peace and justice.

Birth rate crisis

But his emphasis was on Italy -- and particularly what he called "the crisis of the birth rate."

While Italy is largely Roman Catholic, the church teaching that couples should be open to having children is not enthusiastically followed: Italy has one of the lowest birth rates in the world -- 9.3 births per 1,000 inhabitants -- and one of the oldest populations.

Italian women on average have 1.23 children, a figure under the European Union average of about 1.48 and well under the American average of about 2.1.

The United Nations has warned that Italy's economic future is at risk because the shrinking work force won't be able to support its aging population without an influx of migrant workers.

The pope called the situation "another grave threat that bears upon the future of this country, one which is already conditioning its life and its capacity for development."

"Above all, it encourages -- indeed I would dare to say, forces -- citizens to make a broad and responsible commitment to favor a clear-cut reversal of this tendency," he said.