SOCIETY MUST RECLAIM RECOGNITION OF A CHILD'S HUMAN DIGNITY

VATICAN CITY, MAY 10, 2002 (VIS) - Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family and head of the Holy See delegation to the 27th Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Children, addressed the session yesterday in New York City.

"It seems," he stated, "that full recognition of the child's human dignity, of all children, (created in the) image of God, from the moment of their conception, has been lost, and this must be recovered. The true measure of a society's greatness is the extent to which the society recognizes and protects human dignity and human rights and ensures the well-being of all its members, especially children."

The cardinal remarked on "the central criterion" of the Convention on the Rights of the Child "whereby the best interests of the child must prevail." He said "the process of human development in all its aspects ... is the result of a synergy between the family and society. ... The best interests of the child makes it necessary for the child to have an adequate relationship with the family, based on marriage, the cradle and sanctuary of life. ... Therefore, the Holy See believes that the rights of children and the rights of the family should be articulated together." He said that "only when the family fails should society and the State provide children with what they need, hopefully in a family-like environment."

"My Delegation believes that legislation is needed to protect children from all forms of exploitation and abuse, as in the case of incest and pedophilia, as well as through labor, slavery, the abominable crimes of prostitution and pornography, kidnapping, their use as soldiers or guerrillas, or as victims of armed conflicts or of international or unilateral sanctions imposed on some countries. All these scourges are an affront and a scandal to humanity. These various forms of violence must not go unpunished."

In concluding, Cardinal Lopez Trujillo said that the Holy See "wishes to stress that the best interests of children are not recognized when, conditioned by the myth of overpopulation which the most recent data and demographic trends have shown to be unconvincing, population policies are imposed that go against the rights of the family and children. First of all, the fundamental right to life must be recognized."

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