28 Oct 2015

94% of Synod Fathers voted to undermine parental rights at Synod, observes Voice of the Family


                                                         Jonathan Ekene Ifeanyi
Synod of Doom

Pope Pius XI condemns the evil Synod

The errors of the just concluded Synod on the Family, popularly known as the Synod of Doom, are beginning to manifest gradually. The evil Synod champions—though indirectly—the so-called sex education, by rejecting, contrary to Catholic doctrine, the right of parents to choose to be the sole educators of their children in sexual matters. The Magisterium of the Church has actually prohibited classroom sex-ed. In the encyclical On Christian Education of Youth, Pope Pius XI teaches: "Far too common is the error of those who with dangerous assurance and under an ugly term propagate a so-called sex-education, falsely imagining they can forearm youth against the dangers of sensuality by means purely natural, such as a foolhardy initiation and precautionary instruction for all, indiscriminately, even in public; ..." To emphasize the prohibition, Pius XI asserts that "if, all things considered, some private instruction is found necessary and opportune, from those who hold from God the commission to teach and have the grace of state, every precaution must be taken. Such precautions are well known in traditional Christian education ..."
In the same encyclical, in the next few sentences, Pius XI explains the tradition, citing from Cardinal Antoniano, companion of Saints Philip Neri and Charles Borromeo: "Hence it is of the highest importance that a good father, while discussing with his son a matter so delicate, should be well on his guard and not descend into details ..." Notice how the Holy Father speaks of instructions in private, but certainly not in classrooms, no matter if it be a part of the regular curriculum or a separate program.

Vatican II, on the contrary, mandated sex education in Gravissimum Educationis which states: “As they grow older (children) should receive a positive and prudent education in matters relating to sex”. Just one sentence—but it overturned five hundred years of teaching by Saints, scholars and popes! Yet how many conservative devotees of Vatican II, who have aggressively fought sex education, realise that the Council gave it the green light? Pope John Paul II—proudly cited below by Voice of the Family—also promoted sex education—in schools “controlled” by parents and under the latter’s “attentive guidance”. In practice, of course, there was no cooperation with concerned parents, which wasn’t surprising, as the first principle of classroom education was breached, namely, that it is not to be done—leave alone for 12 years!

It is interesting, really, to see lay Catholics now coming out boldly to challenge the erroneous teachings of their bishops, in whom—unfortunately—their trust has simply faded! These “Catholic” bishops and cardinals worldwide have become real wolves, and they have become not only completely useless to the Church, but also dangerous to the salvation of souls, as the only thing they now have to offer to their flock is simply poison. Indeed, it is now dangerous to attend some churches, because there you will encounter these wolves. It’s just unfortunate!   

Voice of the Family has just made the following observations on the Synod of Doom:

257 Synod Fathers voted on Saturday to approve a paragraph in the Relazione Finale of the Ordinary Synod on the Family which rejects the right of parents to choose to be the sole educators of their children in sexual matters.

The sentence, in paragraph 58 of the document, reads:

“The family, while maintaining its primary space in education (cf. Gravissimum Educationis, 3), cannot be the only place for teaching sexuality”.

This is directly contrary to the teaching of the Catholic Church which is that the family can be the only place for teaching sexuality if that is the choice that the parents make.

In Familiaris Consortio Pope John Paul II taught:

“Sex education, which is a basic right and duty of parents, must always be carried out under their attentive guidance, whether at home or in educational centres chosen and controlled by them. In this regard, the Church reaffirms the law of subsidiarity, which the school is bound to observe when it cooperates in sex education, by entering into the same spirit that animates the parents”. (No. 37)

In other words, parents can choose to educate their children in sexual matters entirely at home, or they can involve places of education if they so choose. It is absolutely wrong to assert that the family “cannot be the only place for teaching sexuality.”

The Relazione Finale reflects the agenda of the international institutions

There is an unequivocal determination on the part of leading UN officials, and amongst many of the world’s most powerful politicians, to prevent parents from exercising their inalienable right to control their children’s education and formation.

A few months after Barack Obama first became the US president it was confirmed that his administration would be promoting legalised abortion throughout the world, targeting adolescents, without reference to parents, in a worldwide abortion drive.

Despite the fact that Article 26 (3) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says “Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children” powerful bodies such as the UN’s Compliance Committee for the Convention on the Rights of the Child are putting pressure on developing nations, particularly African nations, to give children from 12 years old access to contraception and abortion. They do so by resorting to the false argument that a child’s right to health requires states to legalise access to contraception and abortion, for children as young as 12, and without the knowledge of parents.

In addition UNESCO and the World Health Organisation, together with powerful western nations and non-governmental organisations, are promoting anti-life and pornographic sex education programmes which seek to eliminate the role of parents as the primary educators and protectors of their children.

The freedom of parents to fulfil their role as the primary educators of their children in sexual matters is under severe threat worldwide due to sex education pushed by UN agencies, IPPF and other bodies. In 2011, at the Commission on the Status of Women at the UN in New York, the International Planned Parenthood Federation, the Population Council and other pro-abortion groups held a meeting to launch worldwide a massive programme of so-called comprehensive sex education entitled: It’s All One Curriculum.
                                                                                  
The Relazione Finale reflects the current practice of the many bishops who already undermine parental rights

The appalling record of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales provides a particularly disturbing example of the way in which the rights of parents and children are being attacked from the within the Church.

In England and Wales young people may have access to contraception and abortion in Catholic schools without the knowledge of their parents, but with the cooperation of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. In addition, teachers in British primary schools are being trained by “Stonewall”, a militant homosexual “rights” group which has a policy that children must be taught that they might grow up to “marry” a person of either sex. Training by Stonewall for teachers is also happening in Catholic primary schools with the co-operation of the local Catholic authorities.

Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster, who played a leading role during the Ordinary Synod, has collaborated with the UK government for years to implement damaging sex education programmes in Catholic schools. During the period when Nichols was Archbishop of Birmingham, the Diocesan Department of Religious Education, received funding from the government’s pro-abortion, pro-contraception Teenage Pregnancy Unit towards the creation of an explicit sex education programme for primary school children. The program, called ‘All that I Am,’ is aimed at children below the age of 11 and includes computer-generated images of naked men and women.

Archbishop Nichols also lent support to legislation that included a clause that would have made sex and relationships education compulsory from 5 to 16 years; government-backed resources for teaching primary school children, include explicit images of male and female sex organs, lessons on menstruation in mixed classes (boys and girls) and graphic details of sexual intercourse. The bill would have led to pressure on schools to link sex and relationships education to contraception and abortion services. Fortunately, following a campaign launched by the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children and other pro-life pro-family organisations, the above clause was dropped from the legislation.

The episode was however one of the many tragic episodes in which bishops have not only abandoned their flock to the wolves, but have in fact joined with the wolves.

The Catholic laity must demand that our rights as parents, and the rights of our children, be upheld and defended by the bishops. The 257 bishops who voted to reject the full rights of parents over their children’s education in sexuality must be held to account.

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