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Chrysostom said...

See the Document of the Pontifical Council for the Family THE TRUTH AND MEANING OF HUMAN SEXUALITY. It is on the web at

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/family/documents/rc_pc_family_doc_08121995_human-sexuality_en.html

It is a charter of the rights of parents and says that NOBODY can take away the rights of parents or assume them. The document makes it chrystal clear that there must be NO school sex education for childen of primary age and sex education in secondaries only with the explicit consent and knowledge of the parent.

When the Labour government brought it its sickening sex education programmes, deliberately designed to corrupt the innocent, it had to pass a law to excempt teachers from prosecution because what they convey would be rightly seen as child sex abuse.
Our Lady Help of Christians - pray for us.
St Athanasius - pray for us
All Ye English Martyrs - pray for us.
St. Charles Lwanga and Companion Martyrs of Uganda, who died resisting homosexual rape - pray for us.
Saint Dominic - saint of the Holy Rosary - pray for us.

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New Friend said...

James

The little film is brilliant. It is positive, factual and informative. It is 100% better than anything I got at school, or actually at home. I got no sex education at all and as a consequence had to learn the...... well no need for details, you fill in the rest!

Of course a man showing it on the street would be arrested, but the point is that is NOT where it is to be shown. Context and intent are everything in such matters. The "nude" bodies are 3 D representations designed to re-assure and are actually important. Anyone who sees evil intent, or potential harm, in them is either ultra prudish or has failed to understand what is being done.

If you think that 9 and 10 year olds are not going to see nudity on occasions then you are not living on the same planet as me. The film teaches them that the way nude bodies look is normal, nothing to be ashamed about and nor are the changes they are about to experience.

I think it is great that people are handling such an important issue this well and feel that any attempt to shelter children away from this is doing them a massive disservice.

I give due praise to the Archbishop, and your Diocese, for acting so responsibly.

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Caroline Farrow said...

I wouldn't mind my Year 6 child seeing this TBF, James. Struggling to see what's inappropriate?

I can see that perhaps it could seem a little unnecessary or irrelevant in that it's linking leaving primary school with physical development, but there's nothing tawdry, seedy or sexually graphic is there?

My understanding is that the "Here I Am" programme is actually very good.

What wouldn't be appropriate about the depictions? Not something that we would prevent the children from seeing, I don't think. Nothing more than they haven't seen already. The naked body isn't dirty or sinful and these images are not sexually provocative or stimulating are they?

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Catherine said...

Vatican paper article backs parents over schools as educators in sexual matters
12/17/2011 4:54:00 PM by John-Henry Westen - LifeSiteNews.com

"A ringing endorsement of parents' "absolute right and Divine duty to educate their children about human sexuality" was presented in the November 23 edition of the weekly Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano.

Writer Edmund Adamus, the Director for Marriage and Family Life of the Diocese of Westminster in London, England warns: "For countless decades, Catholic parents have appropriated the habit of delegating their un-renounceable and irreplaceable educative role in this arena to the Catholic school, and then largely forgetting about it."

However, Adamus points out, "If we acknowledge (as the Vatican teaches) that each child has a right to be morally formed individually, this makes group or classroom presentations in respect of some aspects of human sexuality problematic." Catholic teachers who are "conscientious," he adds, "know that those best placed to deliver this kind of one-to-one formation, are in fact parents."

Adamus' article in the Vatican paper promotes a book which serves as a guide to parents in this all-important education of their children. As I Have Loved You, by Dr. Gerrard O'Shea, writes Adamus, is "an excellent example of how to translate the principles laid out" in Church teaching on human sexuality, "into simple, practical activities that parents untrained in theology can both understand and impart to their sons and daughters in the home and at the age that, out of love for their children, they know best."

Parents have taken to O'Shea's resource guide with great interest, overcoming fear and trepidation about the subject. As I Have Loved You offers "clear guidelines honouring the unique needs of children" making for a "thoroughly practical resource that brings confidence and inspiration," says Adamus.

And while many a teacher and diocesan official may scoff at parents' abilities in imparting such education to their children, parents once equipped with the resource seem to disagree. O'Shea recalls, "I continue to receive requests for training sessions in many parts of Australia, and to date, I haven't had one single parent give me any negative feedback. The closest I have come to it was with a Diocesan official who said that they agreed that the approach advocated by 'As I Have Loved You' would be good, but doubted that parents could do it. The audience of parents at the time was not impressed with this 'put-down' and said so!"

http://www.catholiccitizens.org/platform/platformview.asp?c=53495

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James said...

I'm not anti-sex education. I just agree with the Church that it should normally be done by parents to whom schools should offer assistance rather than simply replacing.

My issue with the clip is that it crosses the line from education to experience. Children are not simply learning basic facts about how physical intimacy can lead to babies, instead they are seeing full colour photo-realistic graphic imagery of naked adults.

Showing this sort of imagery chips away at a child's natural modesty. It grooms children to think that nudity is "nothing to be ashamed about" which will be a big help in three or four years time when their boyfriend starts pressuring them to take their top off.

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Bernadette said...

"Here I am" was an unmitigated disaster. We are still picking up the pieces.

Perhaps you mean "All that I Am". ?

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Sarah said...

SPUC's critique of "A Journey in Love" - this programme was produced by the RC Diocese of Brentwood for use in primary schools. The material for Year 5 children (aged 9 -10) lists discussion topics such as “production of hormones triggers sexual desire, arousal and urge”, “evolving a set of values and moral codes”and “risk- taking behaviour”.
The Year 6 material gives an explicit account of sexual intercourse. The glossary of this programme describes masturbation as “commonly recognised as a natural part of growing up”.

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Salisbury John said...

A book to help parents fulfil their role as the primary educators of their children in sexual matters
"As I Have Loved You" is published by Gracewing Publishing in Great Britain and Connor Court in Australia.

http://spuc-director.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/book-to-help-parents-fulfil-their-role.html

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Ttony said...

Caroline, I think the two main things wrong are the complete divorce of what is being shown from any spiritual context and the fact that the schools seem to think it necessary to visit this sort of stuff on to 10 year olds.

It's not really relevant that the children may or may not have seen any of this before (though DV not in the classroom) but that we have come into a position in which the enormity of the offence against innocence caused by a programme like this (NB the programme, not its better or worse curriculum manifestation) appearing in Catholic education doesn't seem to register with many good people.

It relates to a point I made elsewhere in a discussion I think you might have been involved in: the fault line in 21st century Catholicsm in E&W isn't about the old Mass: it's about the nature of engagement with and temporising before the world - the world, the flesh and the devil, in fact.

E&OE.

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Caroline Farrow said...

Ok thanks Ttony. Re the EF, personally I have no issue with it at all, I sometimes go myself and would like to be able to familiarise myself with it better. To me it seems a great tragedy that this form of the Mass has been marginalised and I personally feel quite let down that I was brought up with absolutely no knowledge or opportunity to experience of the EF which makes it quite difficult to get to grips with, in terms of participation etc. At the moment I feel too self conscious with 2 noisy young babies and an 8 year old to supervise to be able to immerse myself. My experience has been disproving looks from older parishioners. I think there was some misunderstanding with that thread. I was not attacking the EF or those who attend it.

In terms of James' post, its just I didn't see too much of a problem with the content, other than it seemed a bit irrelevant. It's difficult to judge an entire programme from a 3 minute clip.

Maybe I'm not bothered because we DO take our responsibilities as primary educators very seriously. My 8 year old understands not the logistics i.e. what goes where, but that men give women sperm to fertilise eggs. She also understands that this process can only happen when people are married, that you have to be married, that only a husband and wife should make babies, that a special cuddle will make a baby and that babies need mummies & daddies etc.

I guess our main concern is that the school does not undermine anything we teach at home, which is why we shall view any sex material first. Fortunately her school has not even broached the subject in any way, shape or form.

This clip wouldn't undermine anything that we would do at home, so that's why I don't have an issue with it. There's a great book for girls btw, the Princess and the Kiss and other good, mainly American materials, but I think because we are talking about this kind of thing a lot at home at the moment, generally because 8 year old is getting curious, then I wouldn't be concerned.

I guess Catholic families need to be vigilant that nothing undermines what is done at home, hence in terms of this I don't see a problem. Of course if exploring sexual feelings etc comes into it then that's a wholly different kettle of fish.

FTR we just had to reteach how our eldest should take communion, after we noticed that she was treating the host like a canapé, having been taught to pick it up out of her hand!!! I assumed that though in the hand was not what we practice, if taught it would be correctly. Learnt my lesson there. Enough said. But generally speaking so long as nothing undermines what is done at home, then there is no problem. Just the clip about teen growth seemed innocuous, it's the sort of thing that is cropping up at home now, so seems topical.

Maybe we're lucky although I don't think we are unusual or extra special, just a typical Catholic family. There is a lot of prayer and talk about God, Christ & Scripture at home. We just returned from Lourdes where eldest immersed herself (literally), chose her own new grown up rosary and has got to grips with the mysteries. It was really helpful for her to socialise with many of the children who had special needs as it gave a great opportunity to talk and introduce pro life issues and the inherent dignity and beauty of every human being. In other words, like every other Catholic child she is being given a good grounding and hopefully example, within the family. I don't expect any school to do our job for us, nor do I trust anyone other than myself and especially my husband with the precious job of forming our children's minds and spirituality. So long as schools supplement and not undermine I am not concerned. ANY undermining however and we would home-school, something to which we are currently giving a lot of thought.

Jason Evert has it right in my book. "If you don't talk to your kids about sex someone else will".

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ttony said...

Caroline, I think we're starting at the same place and then moving off in opposite directions. The way you describe your engagement with your children is ideal. But the Church in E&W is going way off the rails in promoting this view of human sexuality to 10 year olds instead of the view that you are promoting. It's fine that as long as you are in control you can keep the worst of this sort of thing from your kids, but shouldn't that way of expressing the issue ring alarm bells?

I think the Church here seems to have abandoned its duty to encourage and help Catholic parents, and in this particular area has gone for secular sex education-lite, but my big issue is that a holistic attitude to Catholic teaching about Life and Society is nowhere to be found, and, to go back to the film shown here, exactly at the point when children can understand all that is best, and most noble in what they are called to be.

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Caroline Farrow said...

Sorry Ttony I realised I didn't fully engage with your point. I guess parents being the primary educators does not mean that they should be the "only" educators.

I'm not sure on the legalities but don't even Catholic schools have a statutory duty to provide some form of SRE programme? Surely if this is gentle, supportive & reinforces Catholic teaching, it isn't a problem, though of course we need to ensure the quality of material.

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Salisbury John said...

Catholic high schools and colleges are obliged by law to provide SRE but are free to implement programmes FULLY in line with TMHS and other magisterial teachings.
Catholic primary schools are NOT legally obliged to provide SRE though they must have a policy even oif the policy is "we don't provide SRE and support parents"
Parents are legally protected to withdraw their children from any or all classroom sex education up to the age of 16 [despite the former Chief Executive of the Catholic Education Service being practically shamed/forced to agree to maintaining the upper age limit by a Commons Select Committee]
and the schools MUST remind parents of this legal right regfularly especially in its prospectus. If not they are not fulfilling their legal and Catholic obligations and failing in their fiduciary duty to parents and their children.
hence.....
Cardinal Lopez Trujillo, President of the Pontifical Council for the Family to the tenth annual conference of Women for Faith & Family on the International Year of the Family

"the vast multitudes of families crowded into St. Peter's Square on October 9th, the largest single celebration of the whole Year of the Family, the Holy Father John Paul II, said to the family "You are '', "joy and hope'!" But the Pope of the Family challenges us with these encouraging words. He well understands that the crucial direction that civilization will take depends on parents more than anyone else in this world. Parents must be the primary educators for a true civilization of love.

Education for Love

An important part of this task is educating your children for love, teaching them to care for others; about love as self-giving, according to the Gospel of Christ.

Each child has to be taught the values of self-sacrifice, and the best school for this is a family based on marriage where husband and wife put this into practice. Each child needs to learn to reverence and welcome new life. This is only possible when the good news of is lived, when love means openness to life, generous cooperation with the Creator. Each child needs to become self-disciplined, learned best from parents who practice periodic continence, who moderate the use of luxuries avoiding the pitfalls of consumerism, who use television with prudence. Moreover, each child needs to become tender and compassionate towards others, and that is so easy when he or she sees parents who cherish each other, who communicate, who share their lives as "one flesh". This education for love learned in the true "school of the virtues" is, therefore, the key to resolving the problem of the misuse of human sexuality. Often that is the root cause of marriage breakdown and much personal suffering.

Today, amidst grave threats to purity, we need to educate our children in the family very carefully in sexual matters. In , 37, Pope John Paul II teaches that, because they are the primary educators, parents have the right and duty to carry out this task, which especially builds up a strong civilization of love. Never surrender that right and duty to others. Try to carry it out responsibly, positively and wisely."

December 1994 issue of VOICES, published by Women for Faith & Family,

http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/TRUJHART.HTM

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Catherine said...

"The dogma of equal opportunity is the most influential of all and is maintained stoutly by some who would shrink from what seems to me its probable consequences. It is an ideal which can only be fully realised when the institution of the family is no longer respected and when parental control and responsibility passes to the State."
TS Elliott Notes Towards Definition of Culture p 103 faber and faber 1948

Parents who withdraw their children

5.7 Parents have the right to withdraw their children from all or part of the sex and relationship education provided at school except for those parts included in the statutory National Curriculum (see section 3). Schools should make alternative arrangements in such cases. The DfEE will offer schools a standard pack of information for parents who withdraw their children from sex and relationship
education.

From Charter of Rights for the Family – Article 5

c) Parents have the right to ensure that their children are not compelled to attend classes which are not in agreement with their own moral and religious convictions. In particular, sex education is a basic right of the parents and must always be carried out under their close supervision, whether at home or in educational centres chosen and controlled by them.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

2221 The fecundity of conjugal love cannot be reduced solely to the procreation of children, but must extend to their moral education and their spiritual formation. “The role of parents in education is of such importance that it is almost impossible to provide an adequate substitute.” The right and the duty of parents to educate their children is primordial and inalienable.

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epsilon said...

The presenter (poured into her trousers) with sickly sweet "reassurances" to the poor children being shown a stark "road ahead" looks more suitable for those stupid tv advertising stations laying on the lip gloss and repetition as if talking to dummies! It's a form of bullying really! How many of their mothers or fathers have the physique of the 3-d surreal animations?
Where's the modesty in a woman like this talking to the camera in the presence of these lovely young boys playing chess?
How representative of the ethnic mix in Catholic schools in the UK is this video?

What this video implies is that you're on your own - it's you, you, you on a lonely road, and the future is plastic! If you've got a family it's of no consequence, and if you're not white you don't exist! sick and sickening

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