Sir, There are fashions in social policy as well as in most, areas of life. It will be interesting to see if the Supreme Court is prepared to endorse the current notion that the adopted have an absolute right to know the identity of their natural parents, even against the wishes of those parents. In the present climate of opinion, two aspects of the matter are ignored.
First, nothing should be allowed to weaken the bond with the adopted parents I doubt if children can relate to two sets of parents simultaneously. Second, most priests will be aware of the havoc that can be caused to natural parents and their families by the unwanted intrusion of natural children into their lives. I can recall the terror of an elderly mother whom I contacted on behalf of her natural son, at the prospect of the damage which this revelation would cause to her husband and children. Yours, etc., (The Very Rev. Dr.) The Rectory, Taylor's Hill, Galway.