Letters

The rights of children

Robert Bom

Contents - Oct 2015 Pastoral statement: Marriage Reinvented? - Bishop Michael Kennedy Call to action: Call for urgent action on Religious Education Pastoral visit: Pope Francis’ subtle challenge to Barack Obama - AD2000 Report Pastoral visit: Positive outcome of Pope Francis’ visit to Cuba - AD2000 Report APREL: Wake up the world - Religious Life back on the map - Anne Reeves Russia: Church and State in contemporary Russia - Fr Lawrence Cross Hebrew Catholics: “Salvation comes from the Jews” (John 4:22) - Andrew Sholl The Rosary: The Luminous Mysteries explained - Audrey English Letters: Audrey English responds to Dr Mobbs ... - Audrey English Letters: A further response to Dr Mobbs ... - Anne Lastman Letters: What is eternal life? - Francis Vrijmoed Letters: The rights of children - Robert Bom Books: ABORTION AND MARTYRDOM, edited by Aidan Nichols OP - Paul Simmons (reviewer) Books: HOW THE REFORMATION HAPPENED, by Hilaire Belloc - Paul Simmons (reviewer) Books: THROUGH THE YEAR WITH POPE FRANCIS: Daily Reflections, ed. Kevin Cotter - Paul Simmons (reviewer) Reflection: Fruit of the Garden - Anne Lastman

The rights and needs of children will suffer if marriage is changed from being between man and woman only.

This became more obvious in an article on 31 August this year from the New York Post titled, “Inside New York’s craziest custody case: four parents, one child.”

Veteran family lawyer Susan Bender had never handled a custody fight quite like this.

A gay male couple donated sperm from one of the men to a lesbian couple, resulting in a baby. Each couple bought identical New York apartments and decorated them exactly the same. The intention was to split the year into four quarters and rotate the primary parenting duties among themselves.

The arrangement fell apart after nine months. When a highly surprised custody judge read the petition, she looked at the parties and then asked Susan Bender, counsel for one of the women: “Counsel explain”.

In cases like this, how can a judge be expected to consider the needs of the child and for his decision to be equitable as well? New laws will have to be devised and catering for the rights and needs of the children will become harder to attain.

ROBERT BOM,
West Rockhampton, Qld.

Reprinted from AD2000 Vol 28 No 9 (October 2015), p. 9