Family Issues
+ Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney
22 Aug 2010
Last Sunday we celebrated our third annual Mass for pregnant women. 100 mothers-to-be attended and came up for a personal blessing. It is a beautiful tradition, borrowed from the church in Seoul, South Korea.
Australia is becoming friendlier to children. Last year we welcomed a record 301,000 new babies. Half were born to first-time mothers. Another third arrived as a second child.
The number of births per woman under 30 also increased for the first time since 1971. The fertility rate, while still insufficient to maintain replacement levels, is moving slowly in the right direction.
During pregnancy and the long years from baby to adult a mother is called to give her all (preferably supported by a loving and energetic husband!). Being a good parent is one of greatest contributions a woman or a man can make to our society. Nick Clegg, the UK's deputy PM, argued last week that good parenting is more important than poverty in shaping a child's destiny.
In the election campaign family policy focussed on paid parental leave schemes. This is one welcome way of helping women who want to have children and are constrained by financial pressures. Mothers who make the career and financial sacrifices to care for their children full-time need similar support.
Not much was said about the immense changes taking place in Australian family life, a quiet revolution which is having devastating effects on social structures. While the number of marriages in recent years has increased, the 2008 total was only 1500 more than 1989's total. The marriage rate has fallen from 9.3 per 1000 people in 1970 to 5.5 in 2008, and with it divorce rates (although total numbers are up from 20 years ago).
As a result, 34 per cent of births were outside marriage in 2008, compared to 8.3 per cent in 1970. Tasmania recorded 62 per cent. One part of the tragedy of Indigenous disadvantage is that 84 per cent births are outside marriage.
You do not have to be married to be a good parent, but often it helps. Marriage is not a magic bullet, but more and more research suggests that it increases the chances of good outcomes for adults and children.
It is difficult, and painful for some, but we need to talk about this evidence and how it can help make relationships, families and communities stronger. Ignoring it will not make anything better or anyone happier.
