Odpowiedzialne rodzicielstwo

Abstract

The paper is divided in 4 parts: I. The term „responsible parenthood” in the broader sense denotes the dynamic and creative process of giving birth and educating children, the process incarnating love and accomplishing vocation of the spouses to the immediate cooperation with God in the work of creation and salvation, consciously and deliberately undertaken by the spouses as their task to be actualized. However, the term is commonly accepted in the narrow sense and means only undertaking decisions in order to give birth to the appropriate number of children. II. The criterions of the responsible parenthood, as the objective criterions of Kraków theologians so the functional ones of Pope Paul VI, give no readymade solutions, but call the spouses to find the optimal decisions in compairing the tasks of their parental vocation with the indications resulting from the scientific analysis of the given circumstances of living. III. Indications resulting from the demographic and economic analysis, as well as from sociology, psychology and pedagogy, enhance the Polish spouses to have at least 3 children, despite the bottle-neck in housing and the difficulties in earning the living. IV. Proposals for promoting the responsible parenthood concern the members of society and Church, as well as the respective authorities. Above all, the legal prohibition of abortion should be introduced, and cheep or free family counselling developed, so as maternity leave, part-time jobs and family allowances system. Housing and repartition of flats need amelioration. The educational programs of medical and other studies, and the popular information giving have to be improved in order to prepare people to the parental tasks. Everybody is called to help spouses and parents who have to accomplish their task of responsible parenthood in the framework of the theology of hope.