Tuesday, May 28, 2013

500. How should children be considered?



500. How should children be considered?   

(Comp 500) A child is a gift of God, the supreme gift of marriage. There is no such thing as a right to have children (e.g. “a child at any cost”). But a child does have the right to be the fruit of the conjugal act of its parents as well as the right to be respected as a person from the moment of conception.
“In brief”
(CCC 2373) Sacred Scripture and the Church's traditional practice see in large families a sign of God's blessing and the parents' generosity (Cf. GS 50 § 2).  
To deepen and explain
(CCC 2378) A child is not something owed to one, but is a gift. The "supreme gift of marriage" is a human person. A child may not be considered a piece of property, an idea to which an alleged "right to a child" would lead. In this area, only the child possesses genuine rights: the right "to be the fruit of the specific act of the conjugal love of his parents," and "the right to be respected as a person from the moment of his conception"  (CDF, Donum vitae II, 8).    
Reflection
(CCC 1664) Unity, indissolubility, and openness to fertility are essential to marriage. Polygamy is incompatible with the unity of marriage; divorce separates what God has joined together; the refusal of fertility turns married life away from its "supreme gift," the child (GS 50 § 1).

(Next question: What can spouses do when they do not have children?)

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