Fr Arthur McCormack was the best Catholic populariser of demographic questions in the 1960’s. His book, called, I think, something like “Population and Food”, was an answer to anxieties about the “population explosion”. He relied – too heavily, I believe – on the “green revolution” and the large empty spaces in various parts of the world, to support his view that population increase was not such a great problem.

He could see that the Japanese had difficulties, but thought that the answer to their rapid population increase in a crowded island was to ship the excess to the under populated islands of the Pacific. He had gone so far as to check on the availability of shipping for this enterprise. Theoretically, this was possible and, if it could have been pulled off, it might have reduced the population pressure for a time; but it was politically impossible.

In The Times obituary, it was noted that Fr McCormack became a friend and confidante of Pope Paul VI, but they had to part when their views diverged – Fr McCormack having finally realised that rapid population increase was a major cause of poverty.