“Mothers must be able to choose between professional activity outside the family or at home. Fathers too must be involved in bringing up their children”, declared the Austrian bishops in a statement issued at the end of their spring plenary held at Mönchhof, under the presidency of Cardinal Christoph Schönborn. The need for mothers to have freedom of choice was expressly mentioned in the final statement. “In the interests of the happiness of the child and of its parents, everything needs to be done to permit mothers and fathers to have freedom of choice. In particular, the work performed by the mothers who remain at home during the first years of life of their child must be adequately recognized. At the same time, efforts clearly need to be made to ensure that suitable structures be available for providing assistance to children”, says the statement. “Compatibility between work in the family and professional activity represents an essential prerequisite for flourishing social development”, declare the Austrian bishops. In their communiqué the bishops also acknowledge the changes that have occurred to the roles of man and woman over the years. “The fundamental differences between them however remain and belong to the richness of the human being. It is important that mother and father interact in assisting their child in their diversity”. “For children, the dedication of parents is of great importance not only in the first three years of life. Many young parents practice all this in an exemplary manner today, in spite of the problems”. Cardinal Schönborn said that “for the bishops it is important that work in the family be recognized and also honoured as work of equal dignity on a par with professional activity. The bishops are not responsible for the details of the political application of this principle. For this – he explained – there are competent experts in the Catholic Association of Families or in the Institute of Marriage and the Family”.
