Saturday, June 26, 1999 Published at 13:19 GMT 14:19 UK 
World: Europe
Vatican: Transsexual adoption an insult
By Daniel Schweimler in Madrid The Vatican has strongly criticised the decision by a court in Spain to give custody of an 11-year-old girl to a transsexual. The transsexual, called Eva but born Alfredo, says she is a good mother and a devout Catholic who will continue sending her adopted daughter to a convent school. The girl’s natural mother died when she was a year old and her father, who lived as a couple with Eva for many years, died two-and-a-half years ago. The Vatican, in its official newspaper, called the decision by the court in the southern city of Seville repugnant. It said the ruling was an insult to the institution of the family. The Vatican also said it resented the fact that many courts in the European Union appeared to be making similar decisions. The 11-year-old girl, who has not been named, first lost her natural mother when she was a year old. She was then brought up by her natural father and his new partner, a transsexual called Eva, who legally is still considered a man. The father died in February 1997 and Eva continued to care for the daughter until her maternal grandparents took her away and looked after her for 18 days. Good mother and devout Catholic There then followed a long battle in the courts for custody of the girl. The courts first sided with the grandparents, but an appeal court decided Eva would be the girl’s best guardian. Eva says she is a good mother and a devout Catholic who will continue to send the girl to a school run by nuns. I believe in equality for all, said Eva, who says she has always felt as though she were a woman. She is now in the process of changing sex and is saving the money for a full sex change operation. Eva says everyone knows her situation and she is accepted by the people in her neighbourhood and by the other mothers at the girl’s school. Psychiatric reports ordered by the courts say the girl is well-balanced and accepts Eva as her mother. Spain is a fast-modernising, increasingly liberal country but Eva’s situation is still a long way from being accepted by all elements of the society. Copyright © 1999, BBC News |
