Austria: adoption is a giftAdoption as “an opportunity and a gift”. This was the topic of a symposium organized by the diocese of Graz-Seckau in Graz a few days ago. “A woman who gives her child in adoption is donating him”, underlined Sissi Potzinger, member of the Association of Catholic families of Styria during the meeting. “Those women who despite serious difficulties give life to a child and give him in adoption, deserve special respect”, she added. “Not all the parents who have children deserve the same respect”, declared Friedrich Ebensberger, member of the Foster Parenthood Association in Styria. “Those who are aware of this and decide to give their child for adoption, ensure him a life of love and security and by doing so, give happiness to a couple without children”. Michael Lehofer, consultant in the Sigmund Freud hospital in Graz, expressed his positive view of adopting as early as possible: “In this way, the primary need of a relationship, pertaining to all individuals, is met in the most favourable way”.In the case of late adoptions often this process is worsened by episodes of violence or by the sudden loss of the natural parents, added the psychiatrist. “However, if in a way the adopted child has been ‘abandoned’, on the other hand this child has been ‘chosen’ by his adoptive parents. The “right of the child to know his origins”, if he has been adopted, was underlined by Christian Theis, lawyer of minors, who referred to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This doesn’t happen in Austria in case of “anonymous births”, that is, the possibility to renounce anonymity on parental authority. “This element is envisaged in extreme cases for women: it’s a humane solution and also represents a possibility of survival for the child, underlined Corinna Pletz from the Caritas office for anonymous birth “Babyklappe”. Women who opt for this solution are asked, before and after the birth of the child, to leave a letter regarding themselves, the father, the family, and when possible, explaining the reasons for their choice. Medical information is equally requested. “However, open adoptions, where natural parents meet the adoptive parents, are to be preferred”, Pletz added. Portugal: a central structure for dioceses At the conclusion of the Pastoral Days held in Fatima, the President of Portugal’s Bishops Conference, Msgr. Jorge Ortiga, revealed that Portuguese bishops are planning to set up a central structure for the organization of all dioceses and the management of common financial aspects. “A parish or a diocese cannot be compared to an enterprise – claimed Msgr. Ortiga – however, it’s possible to acquire modern management skills: archives and parish centres, solidarity institutions and ecclesial holdings must be shared with lay people. This will enable priests to focus upon their pastoral work”. Msgr. Carlos Azevedo, Cep secretary, added that one of the most important lessons drawn from the meeting is the possibility of developing a strategic plan: “It’s important that all those in the decision-making process are aware of the perspective scheme, which must simply focus upon the analysis of the resources but must also entail innovative, medium-term elements, covering a period of three to five years”. The Cep special meeting – concluded Msgr. Azevedo – shed light on the fact that “for Catholics, good will is no longer enough. Rather, since today faith is reposed in the experts, highly-developed professional skills must play a major role also when we take our decisions, to enable the utmost effectiveness of our responses to social needs”. Czech Republic: an on-line Latin libraryA library in Latin was opened by the bishops of the Czech Republic within their official website, www.cirkev.cz/en/library. The purpose of the initiative is to enable people to access Church documents in their original language, not only Latin but also Greek, along with other languages including contemporary “living” Latin. It will be possible to read Holy See documents in their original language, ancient Biblical texts, liturgies and prayers. To this regard, it will be useful to consult ancient language dictionaries available on the website. The on-line library was edited by Jiri Cepelak, from the faculty of Arts and Philosophy of the Charles University in Prague in cooperation with the press office of Czech bishops.
