April 2017
Politicians intend to corrupt every child in England.
Not for the first time, the English bishops are eager to help.
Episcopal Millstones ... Again!
Imagine if you arrived home to find your house burgled and precious items taken. You contact the police and the constable says: "Yes, we know all about it. We did the burglary. You see, burglars can make a mess, so it is better if they tell us which houses they have in mind and we give them the keys."
That, unlikely though it seems, is what the Catholic bishops have done about sex education.
The Catholic bishops have not only abandoned children, but are justifying their treachery, publicising it and actually praising the government for corrupting children.
One is reminded of what St John Fisher said of the bishops of his time: "the fortress is betrayed even by the very ones who should defend it."
Let us see the treachery by explaining the present situation.
Welcoming Corruption
Currently, the law is reasonable for Catholic and others. In all primary schools, state as well as church schools, the governors control sex education and, indeed, can decide to have no sex education at all. In secondaries, there is a little that is laid down but it does not amount to much, and it should not trouble any Catholic school that intends to teach the Catholic faith properly. Currently, in independent schools, the state cannot prescribe any item of the curriculum and this includes sex education.
But what a change is happening! The government is dictating that every school in England, state school, church school and even independent school, will be compelled to teach "sex" using a programme decided by the state. No school in England will be able to escape or even be able to decide its own schemes.
But, you will think, surely the bishops will have fought this? No — the Bishops have actually welcomed it. The spokesman for the Bishops' Conference, Archbishop McMahon of Liverpool, issued this, as the official statement of the Catholic Church:
Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) forms part of the mission of Catholic schools to educate the whole person. Our schools have a long track record of educating young people who are prepared for adult life as informed and engaged members of society, and high quality RSE plays an important part of this.
We welcome the Government’s commitment to improving Relationship and Sex Education in all schools. Catholic schools already teach age-appropriate Relationship and Sex Education in both primary and secondary schools. This is supported by a Catholic model RSE curriculum which covers the RSE curriculum from nursery all the way through to sixth form.
We additionally welcome the Government’s commitment to protect parental right of withdrawal and involve parents in all stages of the development and delivery of RSE in all schools. It is essential that parents fully support the school’s approach to these sensitive matters. The experience of Catholic schools is that parental involvement is the basis for providing consistent and high quality RSE at home and at school.
We look forward to working closely with the Government to shape any new guidance to enable Catholic schools to continue to deliver outstanding RSE, in accordance with parents’ wishes and Church teaching.
What can one say about that? Does His Grace and the rest of the episcopate not know the nature and content of this sex education? The best source is the admirable website of the Northern Institute. Protestant though it be, it has fought the fight that the Catholic bishops have ducked against the deliberate corruption of children. The website material can be found on http://www.christian.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/tmty2016_summary.pdf (But be careful: this material, intended for infants, is very disturbing and unpleasant.)
Betraying parents
His Grace had no right to speak for Catholic parents. Over the years, the popes have spoken and written about "sex education" and condemned it and have laid down that the rights of parents to give, and to be in charge of, all "sex education" for their children are "inalienable" rights. In other words, rights which are so strong that not only can no one else usurp them, but the persons with the rights, Catholic parents, cannot give away these "inalienable" rights even if they wish to. This defence is made by several popes, including and especially John Paul II, who mentions it in several of his writings defending children and parents.
The best statement about sex education is in the publication of the relevant Vatican Dicastery, The Pontifical Council for the Family — Guidelines for Education within the family. It contains statements of complete support for parents, and orders that "there should be no ‘sex education’ at all before the age of twelve." This is what the Pontifical Council says in summary of the rights of parents:
145. Any assistance never means taking from parents or diminishing their formative right and duty, because they remain "original and primary", "irreplaceable and inalienable". Therefore, the role which others can carry out in helping parents is always (a) subsidiary, because the formative role of the family is always preferable, and (b) subordinate, that is, subject to the parents' attentive guidance and control... It is clear that the assistance of others must be given first and foremost to parents rather than to their children.
146. Those called to help parents in educating their children for love must be disposed and prepared to teach in conformity with the authentic moral doctrine of the Catholic Church.
Ignoring Christ
Firstly, this document, still the official Catholic teaching on "sex education", could not be more opposed to what the government is proposing. Secondly, while it does not mention even once the word "bishop", "parents" are mentioned 233 times. Therefore, since the government is not acting in a way that Catholic parents would want, and the Catholic bishops know this, a local hierarchy not fit for Catholic purpose has yet again ignored the terrible warning of Our Blessed Lord. So quick to forgive people — the good thief, Mary Magdalene, and others — He said this about those who harmed the innocent:
He that shall scandalise one of these little ones who believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone should be hanged about his neck and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea. [Matt. 18:6]
When we survey the state of our hierarchy, which reflects the corrupt state of the Western hierarchy in general (some fine prelates notwithstanding), it is little wonder that St. John Chrysostom, himself an archbishop, stated that "The floor of hell is paved with the skulls of Catholic bishops." He also said: "I do not think there are many among bishops that will be saved, but many more that perish."
Prideful prelates chuckle and dismiss those warnings from an 'unenlightened' age, just as they shut out Our Lord's warning above, and every criticism that pricks the episcopal conscience. Nonetheless, since Chrysostom's words ring true today as never before, I am compelled to say: Do not trust the bishops to look after your children. Rather, expect the bishops to betray children into the hands of those who want to do them evil.
Clarifying 'Statement'
The government has pushed this with great haste and so it is too late to stop its becoming law. Since it was the Archbishop of Liverpool who spoke about the matter and who issued the statement reprinted above, I wrote to him as follows:
Your Grace,
Please might I ask Your Grace to sign the statement on the enclosed sheet and send it back to me as soon as possible. ... Thank you. Do, of course, feel free to suggest changes, or omissions. I promise to excise, or alter, anything that I have written which is untrue.
I put below what the website of the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales attributed to Your Grace. (That which I have quoted above in this article).
This is what I wrote and attached for his signature:
A statement by the Archbishop of Liverpool, March 2017
As Archbishop of Liverpool, and the bishop responsible for the statement about sex education for the Catholic Church issued in early March 2017, I affirm the following:
I issued the statement and I take full responsibility for it. I consulted with the other bishops of England and Wales and they all agree with it — therefore, there is a collective responsibility, but the words are mine.
I am aware that the Catholic Church has never given any power over sex education to bishops and said, in fact, in several documents issued by the popes, that it is only parents who have rights and that their rights are "inalienable". However, in the times in which we live, I cannot keep to that. I confirm that there was no consultation with the National Association of Catholic Families or any other body of Catholic parents.
I take full personal responsibility for the statement I issued and I, therefore, absolve all Catholic parents and teachers from individual responsibility where sex education is being provided according to government orders. I realise that the government scheme will, for the first time in the history of Britain, impose "sex education" for all primary-age children, including those in church schools and independent schools, in fact for every single child in England — and the curriculum, schemes of work and methods of teaching will be government-controlled.
I accept full responsibility for that and absolve parents from any blame for the corruption of children where a school is faithfully following what the government orders. I realise that the government's material may well include matter concerned with homosexuality, "sex changing", bestiality, and, indeed, anything else that the government decides is allowable. I personally, as Archbishop of Liverpool will take responsibility and not hold teachers to blame where they teach faithfully what is decreed by the present government or the government of the day. Teachers who refuse to teach the government scheme to children will not be supported by the Catholic Church of England. I personally accept full responsibility for sex education in Catholic schools: I state this now and I will state it on the Day of Judgement. I also accept responsibility for any sexual molestation of children that arises as a result of government sex education. Parents may quote this document in the confessional.
Signed Archbishop of Liverpool,
You will not be surprised that the Archbishop refused to sign it.
"The fortress is betrayed even by the very ones who should defend it."
Eric Hester was headmaster of Catholic schools, grammar and comprehensive, for twenty-four years. In retirement, he led the inspections, and wrote the reports, for over fifty independent schools, Catholic and non-Catholic.