FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASECONTACT: Rev. Christopher Pollard212-370-7885 Ext. 30office@holyseemission.orgNew York, NY, Apr. 26 – During this week-long convening of the 45th Session of the Conference on Population and Development, the Holy See drew attention to the “disconcerting trend... on the part of some to downplay the role of parents in the upbringing of their children, as if to suggest somehow that it is not the role of parents, but that of the State”. The statement of the Holy See Delegation, delivered Tuesday, stressed that “the natural and thus essential relationship between parents and their children be affirmed and supported, not undermined. (cf. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 26,3 and Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 18,1).Focusing on education, in the context of the unemployment and illiteracy rates among the world’s youth, the Holy See recalled UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s statement that “ensuring universal primary education and expanding enrolment at the secondary level can yield many dividends, especially with regard to improving skills for productive employment, reducing risky behaviours and developing habits that can influence health for the rest of young people’s lives”.The Holy See went on to observe that “250,000 Catholic schools around the world assist parents who have the right and duty to choose schools inclusive of homeschooling, and they must possess the freedom to do so, which in turn, must be respected and facilitated by the State”.For more information about the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy Seeto the United Nations, please visit www.holyseemission.org,which contains the text of the statement as well as links to the Holy See Press Office.###