Aging Baby-boomers and the Church

As the Church in Spain gears up for the World Youth Day extravaganza that takes place every three years and draws hundreds of thousands of youngsters the world over, the National Catholic Reporter‘s John Allen Jr urges the Church to pay attention to its greying population.

Quoting from the United Nations population division’s report “World Population Ageing 2009”, Mr Allen points out that the numbers of older people (60 and above) in the world will exceed the number of children (15 and under) by 2045. The elderly, he says, are the fastest growing demographic segment of the population (from both ends–longer lives and fewer babies) creating a completely new phenomenon in human history. The demographers have named this trend, Grayby-boom.