Madrid, Spain, Feb 17, 2004 / 22:00 pm
The Spanish Bishops Conference has responded to a recently revealed unpublished decision by a judge in the Navarre province which granted authorization for the adoption of twin sisters by a lesbian couple, saying that when homosexuals are given to right to adopt children, the right of minors to have a father and a mother is not respected.
“The lack of a father and a mother always causes difficulties in personality development. This lack, which is aggravated in the case of homosexual unions, demands an even greater effort by the child solidly establish his normal sexual identity,” said Fr. José Antonio Martínez Camino, secretary of the Bishops’ Conference.
Fr. Martínez denied that homosexuals are discriminated against by not being allowed to adopt children, saying that “we should instead think that the adopted child is the one unjustly treated in these circumstances.”
“Children have an unrenounceable right to have a father and a mother. If under normal circumstances this is not possible, they should be provided an environment which most reflects a natural family. In this case we believe a child’s right to a father and a mother is not being respected,” he warned.