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Children,CommonGood,andSociety
37
notonlyconstituteanappealtoacknowledgethespecialvalueofpreg-
nancybutitalsonoticesthemeaningwhichtheexistenceofthechild,
dependentonothersinhisorherexistence,hasfortherestofsociety
,
namelyhisorherbeingagifttobelovedandthusallowingotherstoful-
filltheirfreedomandrealizetheirhumanity
.
Fromalltheabovewemaydrawaconclusionthatthechildhasaright
tobeloved,whichgivesthepropermeaningtoallotherparticularrights,
whilethemotherhasarighttoberecognizedinhersociallysignificant
diferencefromthefather(besidestheobviousandveryimportantoverall
similarityandexchangeabilityoftheparents’roles).Fromthetheoretical
discussionwemaythenfollowontothepracticalapplicationofthese
findings.ThesocialteachingoftheCatholicChurchincludedsuchdirec-
tivesasitisshowninJohnPaulII’sencyclicalLaboremexercens:“Expe-
rienceconfirmsthattheremustbeasocialre-evaluationofthemother’s
role,ofthetoilconnectedwithit,andoftheneedthatchildrenhave
forcare,loveandafectioninorderthattheymaydevelopintorespon-
sible,morallyandreligiouslymatureandpsychologicallystablepersons.
Itwillredoundtothecreditofsocietytomakeitpossibleforamother
withoutinhibitingherfreedom,withoutpsychologicalorpracticaldis-
crimination,andwithoutpenalizingherascomparedwithotherwomen
todevoteherselftotakingcareofherchildrenandeducatingthemin
accordancewiththeirneeds,whichvarywithage.[…]Itisafactthat
inmanysocietieswomenworkinnearlyeverysectoroflife.Butitis
fittingthattheyshouldbeabletofulfiltheirtasksinaccordancewith
theirownnature,withoutbeingdiscriminatedagainstandwithoutbeing
excludedfromjobsforwhichtheyarecapable,butalsowithoutlackof
respectfortheirfamilyaspirationsandfortheirspecificroleincontrib-
uting,togetherwithmen,tothegoodofsociety
.Thetrueadvancement
ofwomenrequiresthatlabourshouldbestructuredinsuchawaythat
womendonothavetopayfortheiradvancementbyabandoningwhat
isspecifictothemandattheexpenseofthefamily
,inwhichwomenas
mothershaveanirreplaceablerole.”19
Thedocumentdoesnotsuggestrestrictingwomen’sactivitytothepri-
vatesphere.Instead,ittriestopointourattentiontothevalueofwomen’s
specificityinmakingclearthecentralvalueofhumanrelatedness,person-
hood,andlove,whichneedtoberespectedandvaluedbyeveryone,and
thatiswhythefemaleroleofmothers(whetherjoinedwiththeirprofes-
sionalcareersoutsidehomeornot)callsforspecialrecognitionbysociety
anditsvariousinstitutionswhichmayletwomenchoosehowtheirwant
tocontributetheirfemininitytotherestofsociety
.Payingduevalueto
19JoHNPaUlII:Encyclical“Laboremexercens,”no.19.