13yr-old father Alfie finds priest's support.Byline: ANI London, February 16 (ANI): Schoolboy Alfie Patten, 13, who is believed to have fathered a child at this tender age with his girlfriend Chantelle Steadman, 15, have found the support of a priest who says that it would be wrong to "point the finger at anyone". Father Seamus Hester said that Alfie and his 15-year-old girlfriend Chantelle Steadman should be supported, rather than blamed, after becoming parents to baby girl Maisie. The priest presides over St Gregory's Roman Catholic Church Roman Catholic Church, Christian church headed by the pope, the bishop of Rome (see papacy and Peter, Saint). Its commonest title in official use is Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. , close to Chantelle's home in Eastbourne, East Sussex East Sussex, county (1991 pop. 670,600), 693 sq mi (1,795 sq km), extreme SE England. It comprises seven administrative districts: Brighton, Eastbourne, Hastings, Hove, Lewes, Rother, and Wealden. The county, the seat of which is Lewes, borders the English Channel. . His support for the young couple has come at a time when their case has sparked a fierce political debate over the high rate of teenage pregnancies in the UK and the sexualisation of children. He said that he commended the family for going through with the pregnancy. "My immediate reaction is that we mustn't point the finger at anyone. They didn't go off to have an abortion to do away with the child, so obviously they have got respect for human life. Whatever their ages, I say well done for bringing the child into the world," the Daily Star quoted him as saying. Father Seamus even expressed hopes that those around the teen pair would support them. "I expect social services social services Noun, pl welfare services provided by local authorities or a state agency for people with particular social needs social services npl → servicios mpl sociales will help and I would hope that they have got family and friends to help both of them. That is the most important thing in this situation," he said. (ANI) Copyright 2009 Asian News International The Asian News International (ANI) agency provides multimedia news to China and 50 bureaus in India. It covers virtually all of South Asia since its foundation and presently claims, on its official website, to be the leading South Asia-wide news agency. (ANI) - All Rights Reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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