Times: Bishop’s warning against adoptions by gay couples

‘We must strive to give them a family that resembles the natural one’

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130119/local/Bishop-s-warning-against-adoptions-by-gay-couples.453848
Saturday, January 19, 2013 by Claudia Calleja


Auxiliary Bishop Charles Scicluna. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Allowing gay couples to adopt is not deemed to be in the best interest of children since the very aim of adoption is to provide the child with the mother and father figure they do not have, according to Auxiliary Bishop Charles Scicluna.

“We all agree that the child’s best interests should be a priority… Adoption is something society offers to give a family to children who do not have one, so we must strive to give them a family that resembles the natural family made up of a mother, father and children,” he told The Times.

Earlier this week Labour leader Joseph Muscat and Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi both said adoption should be based on the child’s best interests and not the sexual orientation of the adoptive parents.

They both agreed that professionals who decided on the eligibility of an adoptive parent should keep the child at the centre of their decision.

Contacted for a reaction, Mgr Scicluna said he agreed that the best interests of the child should be the driving factor.

But the Church believed that allowing a gay couple to adopt was not in the best interest of the child.

“Let’s keep in mind that adopting is not a right, but it is the right of the child to be cared for,” he said, adding that adoption should aim to imitate the natural family made up of mother, father and child.

Mgr Scicluna added: “We must try to be the best possible for these children… Two people in a sexual relationship, even if stable, are not a reflection of the natural family,” he said.

Maltese law allows both single people and married couples to adopt. As things stand today, gay people may adopt but only if they apply to adopt as a single parent.

The question arises as to whether a couple which obtains a civil union or partnership – as proposed by the PL and PN, respectively – will be able to adopt as a couple.

Alternattiva Demokratika said it backed gay marriage and was in favour of gay couples adopting.

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