CHICAGO, April 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Father is right!  Fathers' rights advocate and attorney Jeffery Leving supports the court's decision in allowing a Chicago father, Joseph Reyes, to take his daughter to Catholic mass.

"What hurts children is father absence; not harmless, interdenominational upbringing.  The presence of a father in a child's life is crucial in a child's development and everything should be done to maintain that relationship," said Leving.

Both parents' equal and joint involvement in their child's life is often critical in the education and religious upbringing of children.  Excluding one parent from the process can turn that parent into a visitor resulting in the deterioration of the parental bond.  Leving co-authored the Illinois Joint Custody Law and has spearheaded successful and sensible advocacy so fathers can stay in the lives of their children.  He has dedicated three decades of his life to legislative and social reform in this important arena.  Reform that is reflected in the court's ruling in the Reyes case.

Contact media strategist Jenny Brandhorst at 312-479-7246 for research and data concerning the effects of father absence on children.

About Jeffery M. Leving

Jeffery M. Leving is the founder of dadsrights.com.  On August 5, 2009, Leving was selected as an expert resource for the White House Roundtable & Town Hall Meeting on Responsible Fatherhood.

SOURCE Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving, Ltd.