Seoul (AsiaNews) – Catholic education, child care and assistance to the working parents are the key points of a project announced by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea (CBCK), which testifies the commitment of the Catholic Church in the educational and social fields.

The Episcopal Council of the Archdiocese of Seoul decided to support some part of the cost of child care facilities established in parishes, in order to offer a Christian education in childhood and to give assistance to working couples with their parenting. "This decision reflects the concern of the Archdiocese for families and working parents. If the Church wants to encourage parents to give birth to more children, it should first take care of the realistic difficulties they face in bringing up children," said a source of the Archdiocese. The Rev. Thomas Aquinas Choi Chang-hwa, chancellor of the Archdiocese, also wished this plan help to offer education of quality for children in local community."

In South Korea, the falling birth rate, due to the social changes related to the emancipation of women and the economic welfare (which has increased the cost of living) prevent couples from having children, because of pursuing a career and lack of money. According to the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, South Korea has the lowest birth rate in the world. The average woman has 1.17 children, significantly below the 2.3 rate needed to keep the population at its current level. This compares to Japan's 1.32 figure , and their well-documented problem with an old population. In these days, the CBCK published the 2003 Statistics of the Catholic Church in Korea, showing the Catholic population growing, but also ageing. (MR)