From: "Sound of Trumpet" 

Vatican to UN: "First Right of Children is that of Being Born"

LifeSiteNews ^ | 3/27/07 | John-Henry Westen


Posted on 03/27/2007 4:36:40 PM PDT by wagglebee


GENEVA, March 27, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - "The first right of
children is that of being born and educated in a welcoming and secure
family environment where their physical, psychological and spiritual growth
is guaranteed, their potential is developed and where the awareness of
personal dignity becomes the base for relating to others and for
confronting the future." The statement was made during a March 23
address by Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi C.S., Holy See (Vatican) permanent
observer to the United Nations at Geneva, who spoke during the 4th session
of the Human Rights Council.

Archbishop Tomasi recalled that "the United Nations Convention on the
Rights of the Child attributes to the child the fundamental rights of a
person; it recognizes the child to have the same equality and dignity as
any adult person."

"In many cases," he went on, "due to lack of will and of
resources, good legal provisions and public policies are not implemented,
with grave consequences for children. They often become the first victims
of famines and wars."

"To many children the right to life is denied; prenatal selection
eliminates both babies suspected of having disabilities and female children
simply because of their sex, and thus denies the equal and intrinsic value
of disabled persons and of girls for their families and for society."

State and society, said the permanent observer, must "concretely
support and enable the family to carry out its task. ... The Catholic
Church's over 300,000 social, caring and educational institutions work
daily to ensure both a peace-oriented and creative education for children,
and the development of their talents, and to provide the reintegration of
abused and neglected children into their families, if possible, and into
society."

"Children are both weakness and hope. To pursue the defence of their
rights and the elimination of all forms of violence against them remains an
institutional challenge for the international community. Success will be
reached if priority is given to the natural role of the family and to the
public culture that recognizes that children too are full human
persons."

(with files from Vatican Information Service)

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