From Saint John Paul II's address to families who have adopted children:
"To adopt a child is a great work of love. When it is done, much is given, but much is also received. It is a true exchange of gifts... Adopting children, regarding and treating them as one's own children, means recognizing that the relationship between parents and children is not measured only by genetic standards. Procreative love is first and foremost a gift of self. There is a form of 'procreation' which occurs through acceptance, concern, and devotion. The resulting relationship is so intimate and enduring that it is in no way inferior to one based on a biological connection. When this is also juridically protected, as it is in adoption, in a family united by the stable bond of marriage, it assures the child that peaceful atmosphere and that paternal and maternal love which he needs for his full human development."
Click on this title, Adoption: More than Just an Option for an article from an adoptive parent's viewpoint.
[The article is from Catholic Stand, an e-publication presenting essays and creative non-fiction, offering substantive resources with thoughtful insights into how to live the Truth that the Church teaches, owned by Little Vatican Media.]