Brussels, 1st June 2020

On the Global Day of Parents, FAFCE recalls the importance of motherhood and fatherhood and asks to recognise their fundamental roles during the current pandemic.

“The parents – FAFCE’s President, Vincenzo Bassi, said – are those who take the joyful responsibility of taking care of their children, in a free gift of themselves. This openness to life generates new vitality far beyond the family itself, benefitting the society at large. As we recalled in our last Board Resolution the current adversity is highlighting to all the importance of the family as the centre of the society. Let’s take the time, today, to honour fathers and mothers and to applaud them, recognising their fundamental role during the current pandemic”.

The Global Day of Parents was established in 2012 by the UN General Assembly. Since the 1980s, the United Nations has been increasingly focusing on family-related issues.

“Despite many declarations – Bassi stated – family is often not considered as a priority, while the role of parents has been overshadowed by the so called new rights. These ‘new rights’, by affirming the right to have a child, neglect the right of every child to have a father and a mother”.

Two weeks ago, FAFCE warned of a shocking video showing 46 new-born babies via the practice of surrogacy in Ukraine: a small hint into the hidden reality of this lucrative business. “These babies were displaced there, as objects in the markets, waiting for their buyers to come and pick them up,” Bassi continued, highlighting that “there is no right to generate or to have a child, but only the responsibility to take care of his/her life for the common good. The community should help the parents to not feel alone, awarding them when they take on this responsibility as parents”.

Cornel Barbut, FAFCE’s Vice-President, stressed that: “Parents are the first and primary educators of their children: they must be involved in all decisions on school curricula, freedom of education should always be protected and innovation and creativity promoted. We should congratulate all parents for their priceless work and we invite all to seize this period to spend more quality time with their families. Also, – Barbut continued – today we cannot forget all the orphans in the world and all those couples who suffer from the inability to have a child. Namely, adoption and foster care are special signs of how a culture of self-giving is the way forward in situations of suffering, like the one we alerted on: we would like to reiterate our call to all the competent authorities to start the process for the international adoption of the babies stuck in Kiev”.

On the Global Day of Parents, FAFCE reiterates its commitment to honour parents and their crucial role for our communities, and to fight for the right of every child to be nurtured and cared for by their mother and their father.