CARDINAL LOPEZ TRUJILLO: DEFEND, PROTECT CHILDREN'S RIGHTS

VATICAN CITY, MAY 8, 2002 (VIS) - Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, spoke yesterday morning in New York during the meeting of religious leaders that is part of the Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly on children.

After pointing to U.N. documents and declarations that state that "all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights," the cardinal referred specifically to children's rights. He cited the Preamble of the Declaration on the Rights of the Children: "The child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth." Yet, he stated, "many delegations and governments refuse to recognize either this or the right to life or the truth that life does indeed begin at the moment of conception."

"It is bewildering," affirmed Cardinal Lopez Trujillo, "to think that many of those same delegations that refuse to recognize the human dignity of the unborn child claim to speak for the dignity of the oppressed, or those who suffer from discrimination. Such a selective, superficial or distorted recognition and understanding of human dignity is truly a denial of one of those social truths that should never be questioned or challenged."

The Holy See delegate noted that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares that "the family is the natural and fundamental unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State (Article 16)." Yet, he added, "it seems that in almost every debate in which the role of the family is discussed, this basic and recognized truth is challenged, and too many delegations attempt to change the understanding of the make-up and role of the family in society and in the life of the child."

"Children have the right to live in a family, to be protected and provided for by loving and caring parents or guardians," the cardinal declared. "At the same time there is a denial of parents' rights, there is a denial of their religious or social background as well as their heritage."

He reaffirmed that "everyone has the right to access to education, yet we see a continued gap between rich and poor, and between the percentages of boys and girls who are allowed to attend school, and complete a course of education. Everyone has the right to the highest attainable standard of health, ... yet too many people, far too many children, die each day because they do not have access to the most basic of medicines or health care. Everyone has the right to adequate shelter, yet too many children are homeless and too many people live in overcrowded homes in overcrowded cities."

Cardinal Lopez Trujillo observed that "these are not purely religious issues but rather social issues. Nevertheless, it is the obligation of religion ... to point out when and where the political and the secular arenas have strayed from their true path."

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