A Case on Parental Responsibility
In determining the best interests of the children, a Judge in a recent case in the Family Court involving parental responsibility was required to consider the part that religion played in the lives of the children. She stated that “in my view, I should give significant weight to the role religion plays in these children’s lives.” She also observed that “the central issue of culture or lifestyle for these children is their faith, which is central to the dispute in this case.”
The five children involved are aged13,12,9, 7 and 5. The parents were married in 1997 in a religious context, separated in August 2010 and divorced in 2011. In February 2012 the father commenced proceedings in court and Orders were made for the children to live with the mother and spend time with the father on specified weekends.
In September 2013 the parties agreed that the children were not spending time with the father and in fact had not spent any time with him since August 2012. The mother complained that the father was unreliable and her primary concern was that he completely disregarded the children’s religious beliefs and refused to take them to church during their time with him as he no longer agreed with their religious views.
It was accepted that the mother is very capable of meeting all the children’s needs and the father recognized this.
The Judge concluded that the children should be given the opportunity to have the benefit of a relationship with their father, however it was stated that it is appropriate for the father’s time to be suspended if he fails to attend on two consecutive occasions.
The Judge ordered that the children live with the mother and that she have sole parental responsibility for them, and that the children spend some time with the father.
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