Pope says Italy's plunging birthrate is a 'tragedy'

Pope Francis bemoaned Italy's plunging birthrate on Sunday, warning that the decline represented a threat to the future of the country.

Births in Italy last year hit their lowest level since the unification of the nation in 1861, the national statistics office said this month, with the figure falling for a 12th consecutive year.

"The demographic winter is a real worry, at least here in Italy," the pope said in his weekly address in front of St. Peter's Basilica.