CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY, MAY 2, 2008

Mexico City - During celebrations marking the International Day of the Child, Archbishop Chavez Botello of Antequera-Oaxaca said having children should not be considered an obstacle to be overcome in life, as “there is no reason a mother cannot be a successful woman. What greater success is there than to give life?” he asked.

“Giving life is the greatest triumph that we can obtain over death; the human being carries within himself the innate anxiety to be fulfilled by giving life. It has been proven that marital problems are more common in couples without children,” the archbishop said.

He called on parents not to be afraid, as “the solution is not to not have children in order to not assume responsibilities,” but rather to be mature in order to understand that this responsibility “engenders satisfactions.” He warned that “the fear of fertility is an evil that dehumanizes us.”

However, the archbishop pointed out that children should not be engendered “without the commitment of forming a home.” He warned of the scars children bear from domestic violence, and he said that adoption is an appropriate response to fill the emptiness in children who are orphaned.

After recalling the unborn who are threatened by abortion, Archbishop Chavez Botello called for a reflection on the social, legal and humanitarian solutions that are needed “to correct and solve the problems faced by thousands of children who do not have a healthy and stable family that provides them the real opportunity to live with love and dignity.”