Nothing in this section precludes young people under the age of sixteen from applying under the procedure described in 11.04-11.12
Application on behalf of a child
These three approaches have usually been seen as mutually contradictory - if one is right the other two must be wrong. But in reality all three can be right: they express different aspects of membership. Each emphasises something of what it means to be persons shaped by the family and community we are born into, but having to choose our own position in relation to our family and community. Parents should try to recognise that their child may quite properly choose, in the light of the child's own temperament and experience, a way different from the one chosen on her or his behalf, even if that way lies outside the Society. Children, for their part, may recognise that any choice made for them will reflect the temperament and experience of their parents. (See 11.17.)
Next: 11.15
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