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Children,CommonGood,andSociety
33
cerningadoption:“When[…]homosexualcouplesinsistuponthe<right’
toadoption,theChurchnevertiresofproclaimingtherightofthechild
overanypresumedrighttoachild.”11SchumacherherereferstotheCate-
chismoftheCatholicChurch,no.2378andclaimsthatthisrightisrooted
inthepersonalisticperspective,whichisopposedtotheindividualistic
viewofthehumanfreedom.Personalismofersanattractivealternative
tobothindividualisticunboundedautonomyandsocialdominationover
individuals.Itisastandpointrespectingthedignityofeachperson(e.g.
byprotectingone’snaturalwayofcomingtoexistenceandnotallowing
theothers’interferencewithone’sgeneticequipment)andastandpoint
perceivingeachhumanasrelatedtootherswithinvarioustypesofcom-
munities.Thesecommunitiesshouldnotdominateoverpersonsbutcome
fromnaturalandsociallyafrmedtieswhichservepersonaldevelopment
andfulfilment.Humanfreedomishereaccepted,recognized,andyet,not
treatedasconflictedwithothers’freedoms.AnotherNewFeminist,Helen
M.Alvaréstates:“Anewfeminismunderstandsfreedomasaninherently
communalprojectitisnotonlyaboutoneself.”12Sheincludesthisstate-
mentwithinanarticleconsideringthematterofparentaldutiestowards
theirfamily
,claimingthatbothmotherandfatherhavetotreatchildcare
astheirprioritytaskovertheirjobswhichneedtobecomesecondaryand
servingthepurposesoffamilial,personalrelations.Servingthepersons
withinfamilybecomesthetoppriorityabovetheprofessionalgoals.The
latterarealsoperceivedasservingthesocietybutasnaturallymoredis-
tantthanthemembersofone’sownfamily
.Boththefamily(withitspar-
ticularmembers)andsocietyatlargearetreatedasthecommongood.It
thusconstitutesanexampleofasocialphilosophyofthecommongood
includingthegoodofthechildwithinfamilyrelations.
Suchaperspectiveoflinkingthegoodofpersonswiththecommuni-
tiesis,however,possibleifthegoodsarenotopposed,andthisinturnis
realizedwhenwhatconstitutesthecommongoodisnotjustthesumof
conditionsfavourableforindividuals’development,butthepersonhim-
selforherself.Theself-actualizedperson,thepersonrealizedthroughthe
websofrelationships,standsatthecentreofthismodel.Everyperson
isthenthefocalpointofthecommongoodofsocietyingeneral,while
particularpeopleintheirdiferentsituationsandstagesoflifeconstitute
thefocalpointsandcommongoodsofparticularcommunities.InJohn
PaulII’sLettertoFamiliesitisclaimedthatinthenewbornchildisreal-
11M.M.ScHUMacHeR:“APleaforthetraditionalfamily:Situatingmarriagewithin
JohnPaulII’srealist,orpersonalist,perspectiveofhumanfreedom.”TheLinacreQuar-
terly81(4)2014:314—342,p.330.
12H.M.AlVaRé:“WhenBothParentsWork.NewFeminismandtheFamily.”Liguo-
rian,August1998,pp.26—29,p.28.