A Tale of 2 Educational Philosophies

Friday LifeSiteNews posted 2 articles that, by their titles alone, give us an insight into how far the way the US government is handling our children's education is from authentic Catholic teaching.

The 1st article (Vatican: the State Must Respect Parents' Wishes in Religious Education) looks at a new document released by The Congregation for Catholic Education. In it they call on public authorities to respect the religious and educational freedoms of parents in school curriculums, emphasizing that schools ought to provide for the proper moral and religious formation of students according to the student's faith.

Compare that to what is going on in our Nation's capital: D.C. Schools to Screen for STDs Without Parental Consent. As LSN reports District of Columbia public schools officials "have confirmed that they will begin offering sexually-transmitted disease (STD) screening and treatment for students without parental consent. This new initiative, which follows the completion of a pilot program in some D.C. schools, will include explicit sex education that discusses with students the contraction of STDs. Following the sex education, students will be sent to bathrooms where they receive a paper bag containing a cup for urine sample collection. " & while the students themselves will be able to decide whether or not to give the sample, parents are not given a say in whether to include their child in the program.

D.C. Council member David A. Catania points out 1 glaring disconnect between this & how things are normally done. A disconnect that appears all the time in the abortion industry's fight to stop parental consent laws for abortion. "Right now, if you play sports in a public school, you have to get permission from your parents. If you take a field trip, you have to get permission from your parents. Why would it be any less for this? Only if the parent gives the consent upfront would I do this."

You can be sure this program is in line with how the "culture of death" wants sex ed taught. It is clearly another attempt to undermine parental authority. This time under the guise of health concerns. & you can be sure that programs like this are not abstinance based as well. In fact, i am willing to go so far as to say that they will be more in line with programs like those Planned Parenthood promote that also undermine parental authority. & also undermine basic morality by encouraging premarital sexual behavior, birth control & abortion.

& it isn't just occuring in DC. According to the Washington Post, school systems in other cities including New York, Chicago, New Orleans & Baltimore, also either perform screening for sexually transmitted diseases or are setting up pilot programs. Only Baltimore's program does not require parental consent. But it is not clear whether parents can opt out their children.

The Catholic Church teaching makes it clear that primary responsibility lies with the parents when it comes to all formes of education. & that sex education should be in line with Catholic teaching. There are many good resources out there to help parents. & a large number of them are based on Pope John Paul's Theology of the Body. There is no excuse for not providing children with the proper learning. & it has to start at home, with the parents. It is clear that as things stand, unless we speak up, it won't occur in the schools. & what does get pushed there will be the agenda of the "culture of death" instead.