Archdiocese Of Sydney Contributes To Review Of Adoption Act

By Marriage and Family Office

1/6/2006

The Archdiocese of Sydney, through the Marriage and Family Office, has prepared a submission into the NSW Government’s Review of the Adoption Act 2000.

The Marriage and Family Office submission “supports those objects of the Act which enshrine the ‘best interests of the child’ as the paramount consideration and that adoption ‘is to be regarded as a service for the child concerned’”, and goes on to explain that “The best interests of the child both in childhood and in later life are served by the provision of both an adoptive mother and an adoptive father who have made the lifetime commitment of marriage.”

In relation to the proposal to extend adoption rights to same-sex couples, the submission states that “there is a lack of reliable evidence demonstrating the equivalence of homosexual parenting with that provided by a married heterosexual couple. In contrast, there is significant evidence which confirms that married couples offer the best environment for a child’s psychological, emotional and intellectual development and that children fare best when they live with a mother and a father.”

Click here to see the full submission (PDF).

The Marriage and Family Office of the Archdiocese of Sydney was opened in early 2006. The Director, Mr Chris Meney has been involved with both Church and secular family organisations over many years. These include previous engagements with the Archdiocesan Council for Marriage and Family in Melbourne, the National Association of Catholic Families and the Australian Family Association.

The mandate of the Marriage and Family Office is “Promoting the truth, goodness and beauty of Marriage and Family”, with a key focus of the office being to project the Church’s vision of marriage and family out into the culture.