Mandy Smith, ex-wife of Rolling Stone Bill Wyman, and her return to the Catholic Faith

A very touching radio programme from the BBC World Service. I think every young person should listen to this.

Heart and Soul: Fame, Blame and Shame.

I'm not ashamed to publish this email regarding Tesco and Gay Pride

But I'm not going to watch the videos. Even if children are being exposed to this sort of evil (and I know they are) I don't want to watch it myself - I saw a bit of one from another website and found it offensive and disturbing - spiritually! But if you are not aware that this sort of thing happens, then maybe you should take a look. Ensure, however, you pray before, during, and after to Our Lady conceived without sin that she might keep your body pure and your soul holy, to St Michael the Archangel to safeguard you against evil, and to your Guardian Angel.

Since making the Conscecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary last Lent and since being in this remote part of the world, I have found it a great grace to have been protected from this sort of stuff for so long. There are those called to fight the battles, and this part of the world is not without them, but there is great wisdom - if I may venture to suggest - in keeping a wall around one's mind, one's heart, one's will, one's passions, and have Our Lady keep you as an enclosed garden. I think I have reached the stage in life where I do not need to see the evil to be able to know it exists.

Parents need all the support they can get to keep their children protected also.

(Since publishing and after a comment from Damask Rose, I took a look at the three videos. I had to stop the reading of the poem: not only blasphemous but pornographic. And the others just made me think: what has London come to? There is nothing benign in this at all: it is in-your-face exhibitionism.)


Parents: exercise your discretion.

Dear Friends

I am writing again to Tesco about its links with London and World Pride.  Complaint has thus far been futile.

By Tesco leading this year’s London Pride, with Tesco staff carrying the rainbow flag and promising money and resources for next year ---  providing a “safe, relaxed and chilled out place with family-friendly entertainment and activities aimed at younger children” --- it may attract the Pink pound, but badly damages its public image.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2060559/Outrage-Tesco-backs-gay-festival--drops-support-cancer-charity-event.html

The public will soon need to accept not just homosexuality but an increasingly extreme range of sexual orientations. The main resistance to this pressure to conform comes from Christians who, apart from losing their jobs, having their businesses shut down, being dragged through the courts and threatened with physical violence, are being held up for public ridicule.

It seems that Tesco is already experimenting with this tactic. The Head of Research and Development at Tesco.com, Nick Lansely, did a dramatic reading of  James Kirkup’s “The Love That Dares to Speak its Name”, videoed and posted it on Youtube.

It is a description of a necrophilial (an ‘orientation’) soldier having sex with/on the crucified body of Christ. [WARNING EXTREMELY OFFENSIVE; but remember before you avert your eyes, judging by what  our children are already exposed to in schools, this, in time, is what they will be led to accept.]

“The Love That Dares to Speak its Name”

http://annoy.com/history/doc.html?DocumentID=100045

Nick Lansely, Head of R&D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kG7lf2tlkKk

Nick Lansley, reading the Blasphemous poem on Youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=0mGBJsTJDbs

Nick Lansley is on the team of Out at Tesco that organised Tesco’s leading this year’s London Pride 2011

http://home.outattesco.com/newsletter/index.php?page=newsletter-manua

Nick Lansley is clearly visible at the 2-minute mark on this Youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HOYJhMSZjA

Nick was also on hand to record an event held in June 2008, when the National Secular Society (NSS) gathered in a London restaurant to celebrate the repeal of the Blasphemy Laws. Here Sir Ian McKellen OBE gave a spirited rendition of the above poem and boasted of ripping pages from the Bible – something he proudly confesses to doing whenever he finds one in a hotel room. At the bottom of the NSS web site we read:  “Nick Lansley recorded the event.” http://www.secularism.org.uk/bbbpartyreport.html

Had McKellen distributed cartoons of the dead body of Mohammed being sodomised, whilst tearing pages out of the Q’ran all hell would have been let loose - globally. 

Why is it that Christian employees and customers don’t have the same human right to feel that they are victims of incitement to religious hatred as are Muslims? Why are Muslims protected from such hatred by Tesco and Sir Trevor Phillips, Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, and yet the sensibilities of Christians can be openly mocked and trampled on?

Why can Nick be publicly identified with promoting Lesbian Gay Bi-sexual and Transsexual (LGBT) rights whilst  simultaneously encouraging what many people of faith (and others) would consider profoundly blasphemous --- even an incitement to religious hatred?

Other Tesco employees, especially Christians cannot make a critical remark of the LGBT for fear of being sacked. I received this recently from a concerned Tesco employee:

“Let me open by apologizing for my going through the absurd necessity of using a fake email address – my employer (Tesco) has been known to take action against members of staff who are identified as making any remarks online which could be considered derogatory. (This is advice handed out by our union, USDAW – never, ever mention Tesco on Facebook, Twitter, etc). I simply cannot run the risk that my real name would be associated with the comments I am about to make. (which is not meant to question your personal integrity, it is simply a risk I cannot take).”

Tesco should be in the business of providing essential goods and services. Homosexuality is not a state of being like being black; it is an emotional and psychological disorder. When a black woman goes to sleep she is no less black than when she is awake. There is nothing that a black woman can do to make herself either less or more black. On the other hand a homosexual is only homosexual when his imagination leads his emotions, desirers, actions, habits and character to become homosexual.  This orientation can either become stronger or weaker. Movement into and out of homosexuality can and does travel in both directions. But it seems that this travel is only allowed in one direction: from heterosexuality to homosexuality – never the reverse.

In 2 Peter2 it describes how God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly. It says that “He  rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless, for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard.” Are we prepared to be distressed or do we wish to bury our heads in the sand?

Please write to Tesco letting them know your views and intentions:

richard.broadbent@tesco.com: Chairman of Tesco

philip.clarke@tesco.com: International and IT Director

richard.brasher@tesco.com: Commercial and Marketing Director

Andrew.higginson@tesco.com: Chief Executive of Retailing Services and Group Strategy

cr.enquiries@uk.tesco.com

customer.service@tesco.co.uk

ceo.customerservice@tesco.co.uk

I am

Yours in Jesus Christ

David Skinner

http://www.notashamed.org.uk/

More sex please. We're pharmacists!

Thanks to my brother, Father Stephen Boyle, for sending me a link to this article from the Pharmaceutical Journal 2011. It sums up the strange state of affairs when pharmacists are expected to promote healthy life styles ... except when it comes to sex.

The author asks:

Are we being as fair to the public about sex as we are about smoking or eating sweets or drinking alcohol?

Go read.

Couple of jokes - home schoolers and sex ed

The following via a friend from Catholic-pages.com.

Sts Dominic, Francis and Ignatius of Loyola are transported back in time and place to the Birth of Our Lord. St Dominic, seeing the Incarnation of the Word, is sent into ecstasy. St Francis, seeing God become a helpless child, is overcome with humility. St Ignatius of Loyola takes St Joseph and Our Lady aside and asks "Have you given any thought to His education?"

And this, longer, and funny but serious too....
School Sex Ed

I was holding a notice from my 13-year-old son's school announcing a meeting to preview the new course in sexuality. Parents could examine the curriculum and take part in an actual lesson presented exactly as it would be given to the students.

When I arrived at the school, I was surprised to discover only about a dozen parents there. As we waited for the presentation, I thumbed through page after page of instructions in the prevention of pregnancy or disease. I found abstinence mentioned only in passing. When the teacher arrived with the school nurse, she asked if there were any questions. I asked why abstinence did not play a noticeable part in the material.

What happened next was shocking.

There was a great deal of laughter, and someone suggested that if I thought abstinence had any merit, I should go back to burying my head in the sand. The teacher and the nurse said nothing as I drowned in a sea of embarrassment. My mind had gone blank, and I could think of nothing to say. The teacher explained to me that the job of the school was to teach "facts," and the home was responsible for moral training. I sat in silence for the next 20 minutes as the course was explained. The other parents seemed to give their unqualified support to the materials.

"Donuts, at the back," announced the teacher during the break. "I'd like you to put on the name tags we have prepared-they're right by the donuts-and mingle with the other parents."

Everyone moved to the back of the room.

As I watched them affixing their name tags and shaking hands, I sat deep in thought. I was ashamed that I had not been able to convince them to include a serious discussion of abstinence in the materials. I uttered a silent prayer for guidance.

My thoughts were interrupted by the teacher's hand on my shoulder. "Won't you join the others, Mrs. Layton?" The nurse smiled sweetly at me. "The donuts are good." "Thank you, no," I replied.

"Well, then, how about a name tag? I'm sure the others would like to meet you." "Somehow I doubt that," I replied.

"Won't you please join them?" she coaxed. "I'll just wait here," I said.

When the class was called back to order, the teacher looked around the long table and thanked everyone for putting on name tags. She ignored me.

Then she said, "Now we're going to give you the same lesson we'll be giving your children. Everyone please peel off your name tags." I watched in silence as the tags came off. "Now, then, on the back of one of the tags, I drew a tiny flower. Who has it, please?"

The gentleman across from me held it up. "Here it is!" "All right," she said.

"The flower represents disease. Do you recall with whom you shook hands?" He pointed to a couple of people. "Very good," she replied. "The handshake in this case represents intimacy. So the two people you had contact with now have the disease." There was laughter and joking among the parents.

The teacher continued, "And whom did the two of you shake hands with?"

The point was well taken, and she explained how this lesson would show students how quickly disease is spread. "Since we all shook hands, we all have the disease."

"Speak now, I thought, "but be humble."

I noted wryly the latter admonition, then rose from my chair. I apologized for any upset I might have caused earlier, congratulated the teacher on an excellent lesson that would impress the youth, and concluded by saying I had only one small point I wished to make.

"Not all of us were infected," I said. "One of us ... abstained."

'Growing Up': do you think it should be shown in primary schools

'Growing up - guide to puberty' is a DVD resource used in certain Catholic Primary Schools that I know of. You can download and check the User Guide at http://www.uniview.co.uk/acatalog/sex-education.html. (Well, you could until recently, but it seems the link is not working just now.) I have pasted the link in full so that you can see that it is clearly a 'sex education' resource.

ADVISORY:You'll have to scroll down past some pretty disgusting stuff to find this particular DVD. Some time ago I asked a parent (not a parishioner or former parishioner) to take a look and she said her browser blocked it as unsuitable for family access, quite understandably. So you might need to temperorarily disable your safe family settings.

Clicking the 'more info' link on the single copy advert leads to a pop-up window which states:

GROWING UP a guide to puberty DVD Ref: 0097D
The film describes the changes happening to a child's body as he/she approaches and enters adolescence, dealing with both the physical and emotional aspects involved. Topics covered include:- Puberty, Changing Emotions, Social Expectations, Masturbation, Wet Dreams, Circumcision, Menstruation, Management of Periods and Hygiene. "the Bounty video 'Growing Up: A Guide to Puberty' widely used up and down the country and often thought of as being ideal to help plan and deliver SRE within primary school' Chris Mayer Editor of RCN School Nurse Forum Newsletter 2003.
Audience 8 - 12 yrs
Notes (updated 2003)

I attended a viewing of this DVD with some parents some time ago. Whilst some parents expressed some uneasiness, none wanted to withdraw their children from the presentations, which would be given by school nurses, for fear of disadvantaging their children. A couple who have experience of raising a large family were very much opposed to it.

The film is animated. But do you think this should be shown to 10 and 11 year old boys and girls, bearing in mind it:

• contains detailed description and images of the female genitalia;
• invites girls to inspect their genitalia with the use of mirrors;
• shows an image of an erect boy's penis.

The 'Users Guide' (there appears to be something wrong with the link given on the website just now so you cannot get to read it at present) is for use at the discretion of the presenter. But to illustrate the philosophy of the producers, let me tell you a few things it states:

• ‘young people … discover the pleasure of their genitals’;
• ‘sexuality is not only about reproduction, it is about pleasure’;
• ‘it is normal to masturbate’;
• neither masturbation nor ‘touching and caressing the genitals… will do any harm’.

The 'Users Guide' contains a list of helpful organisations and websites. Yes, you've guessed it, they are:

• the sexual health charity FPA
• Brook Advisory which provides free and confidential sexual health advice and contraception to young people.

Amongst the suggested reading books for the children are books which clearly propagate a view of sexuality at odds with the Catholic Church’s teaching.

I appreciate that you might not have had the opportunity to view the DVD, but I'd be interested in learning what you think about the presentation of this DVD to primary school children. as I sometimes wonder whether I am just being an old fuddy duddy in having concerns about this. Depending on your comments, I'll put up a further interesting post on this matter.

Busy Day at Marie Stopes

Is Monday usually busier than other days? There was a steady flow of clients going in and out of the Maidstone branch of one of Britain's major abortion providers this morning. A small number of us prayed while two counsellors sought to enter into dialogue with some of those entering and leaving the premises.

There is certainly no indication that MS wants to reduce its provision of abortion services. They are, after all, a business, and as long as promiscuity continues to be promoted through Sex Education, their commercial success will be assured at the cost of the lives of unborn children.

Why is the Catholic Church so silent? Why so few who join us at these prayer vigils? Pope Benedict said in Portugal last week:

Perhaps we have placed an excessive trust in ecclesial structures and programmes, in the distribution of powers and functions; but what happens if salt loses its flavour?

The salt has lost its flavour and there is corruption in the Church that our Holy Father wishes to counter. The "Church" is too preoccupied with commissions, presentation and image, and is failing in its proclamation of the Gospel of Life. The Church is, of course, more than bishops and priests. All the faithful need to be engaged in this, without waiting for "ecclesiastical structures and programmes" to organise it, although scenes such as this one from from Detroit, Michigan, occuring in GB would be a great encouragement.

A priest once said he thought I was very brave to pray outside an abortion clinic. What's so brave about it? Just look at the people in the photo at the top of this post? Is anyone likely to enter into any serious battle with them? The worse abuse we get is being told we are deluded, or some choice language, nothing compared to the suffering of the unborn child and the future suffering of post abortioners. These people are the fearless lowly faithful of the Church, who teach me so much about dedication to God's Precious Infants. And my conscience is far from satisfied when all I do is pray.

After today's vigil and the procession back to the nearby parish church, I returned to my car which I had parked near the abortuary. I saw a young woman get out of a SUV. She had a few words with the driver of the vehicle (boy friend? mother?) She left the vehicle. She looked unhappy. I walked by. I looked back. She had gone into the abortuary. Should I have stopped to ask if I could do anything? After all, how could I know she was going in for an abortion? Usual excuses for not getting involved.

I walked by...

I couldn't put the car radio on for some time as that girl's unhappy - and lonely - face remained before my mind's eye. I am no better than the millions of other catholics who remain silent.

I walked by...

Blood Money - Planned Parenthood and Abortion

The way to promote abortion: Sex Education!

I received an email today about a new film that has been made about the abortion industry: BLOOD MONEY. I am told it is an independent film which needs our support to expose the corruption of Planned Parenthood. In order for the producers to get it into cinemas they need to show that millions of interested people have visited their website. You need only visit the website; there is no need to sign-up as a supporter unless you feel compelled to do so. The second link is the trailer for the movie.

Petition Against Government-Led Sex Education in Schools Permanent Website

The organisers of this petition, Amanda and Mark Lewin, have created a website to house permanently the over 2,000 signatories to this petition which closed on 25th March, Solemnity of the Annunication.

Here's a reminder of what it said:

We, the undersigned, call upon the Bishops of England and Wales and the Catholic Education Service to fulfil their duty as guardians of our Catholic Faith and unequivocally reject recent Government measures forcing Catholic schools to teach what is explicitly condemned by the Church, viz: presenting active homosexuality as an acceptable alternative lifestyle, and providing information on the nature - and provision - of contraception and abortion services. Compliance on the part of the Bishops and the CES in such measures would effectively render our schools no longer Catholic in any meaningful sense, and would place the faith and moral life of our children in jeopardy. As Catholic parents, teachers and pastors, we earnestly beg of you, our Shepherds in Christ, that you do not allow this to happen.

The plan now is to send a letter, briefing and result of the petition to Rome, and to all the Bishops of England and Wales.

Amanda and Mark write:

Please keep this in your prayers as even if this evil Bill is not passed we still have Catholic schools teaching abhorrent and blatant sex education to our children.

May the Holy Family and St Margaret Clitherow continue to pray for us all.

Amen!

Sunday Telegraph letter calls for rejection of Children, Schools and Families Bill

I am grateful to two priest friends of mine, Fathers Marcus Holden and Mark Swires, for bringing this news to my attention. Here is what they tell us.

In today's Sunday Telegraph there is an amazing letter calling for the rejection of the CFS bill and it is signed by three English Catholic bishops. It seems the silence has been broken. Dozens of leading Catholics have also attacked government plans to restrict the role of parents in education and to introduce invasive sex education into schools throughout England and Wales. More than 2000 signatories have called for parliament to reject the proposed Children, Schools and Families Bill. Three bishops, several leaders of monasteries and religious congregations, philosophers and theologians, over 100 Catholic headteachers and governors and more than 200 priests and deacons have signed a letter written to the editor of the Telegraph by Mr Norman Wells, director of Family Education Trust. They join a long list of prominent non-Catholic signatories including a huge number of distressed heads, governors and teachers, ministers from many different Christian denominations, Muslim leaders and even concerned atheists. Their concern is specifically for the common good of the country which they believe will be undermined if the bill becomes law. The proposed legislation they say, 'seeks to impose a particular ideology' on children, families and schools and unjustly denies parents and guardians the right to raise children according to their own culture and values.

This is the letter which can be found together with another letter in the Comment section of The Telegraph website under the heading "The religious rights of Christians are treated with disrespect":

Parents and guardians have the primary responsibility for bringing up their children in accordance with their own values and culture. They may entrust the task of formal education to a school of their choice, but the overall responsibility for the upbringing of their children remains theirs.
The Children, Schools and Families Bill undermines this principle and seeks to impose a particular ideology by means of statutory sex and relationships education. We would therefore urge members of the House of Lords decisively to oppose it.
A state which seeks to centralise responsibilities which are properly fulfilled by families is acting in an unjust manner and undermines the basis of a free society.

Here is a list of some of the Catholics who have signed:

Bishop Brian Noble – Shrewsbury Diocese
Bishop Patrick O’Donoghue
Bishop Mark Davies (Co-Adjutor of Shrewsbury)
Fr Aidan Nichols OP Theologian Blackfriars Cambridge
Rt Rev Francis Baird OSB – Abbot Prinknash Abbey
Rev Dr Louis Caruana SJ - Philosopher Heathrop College
Rev Matthew Burns Parish Priest Ampleforth Abbey
Fr Leo Chamberlain – Former Headmaster of Ampleforth Abbey
Monsignor G M Dasey – Vicar General Middlesborough
Rev P Dillon OMI Director of Missionary Association of Mary
Fr Tom Finigan – Chairmen of APGL
Rev John Fordham – Vice Provost of the London Oratory
Mgr. Timothy Galligan (formerly of the Council for Christian Unity at the Vatican)
Canon Jeremy Garrett – Rector of St John’s Seminary Wonersh
Canon A T Hayes – Diocesan Safeguarding Officer
Maureen Hurst – School Governor/President of Union of Mothers – Salford Diocese
Neville Kyrke-Smith - National Director Aid to the Church in Need
Tim Matthews - Editor National Association of Catholic Families
Canon T A McBride Episcopal Vicar for Formation and Cathedral Dean – Salford Diocese
Professor David Paton – Governor and Professor of Industrial Economics - Nottingham University Business School
Dr Andrew Pinsent Senior Research Fellow, Theology Faculty, Oxford University
Fr John Saward - Theologian Oxford University
Rev Dom Antony Sutch (former headmaster of Downside)
Fr Luis Tomas Superior Consolata Fathers
Dr Petroc Willey Dean of Graduate Research Maryvale Institute (Deputy Director of Institute)


Another article in today's Sunday Telegraph, entitled 'Senior bishops call for end to persecution of Christians in Britain' by Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs correspondent, which as well as mentioning objections to general anti-Christian feeling, refers to the letter by Norman Wells, director of the Family Education Trust, on the CFS bill:

Christians are also increasingly concerned that the Government is ignoring their views on issues such as sex education and homosexuality when introducing new legislation.
A group of 640 head teachers, school governors and faith leaders have signed a separate letter to this newspaper warning that compulsory sex education in primary schools will erode moral standards and encourage sexual experimentation.
They call for the dropping of legislation that will see children as young as seven taught about sex and relationships.

Today's Sunday Telegraph also carries an excellent article on page 2 which does not appear to be available on the Telegraph website:

and a further article on the same page about school outings to sexual health clinics aimed at "demystifying" the consequences of unprotected sex and preparing children!!! for visits later in life (so we anticipate that the children of this generation will need these services - of course, because they are being groomed for promiscuity):

(Just click on these articles and then magnify them in your picture viewer. Both pictures supplied to me by Father Mark Swires.)

Let's hope people take note of this weekend's publicity and that this horrible tide of corruption of our young people be stemmed.

Nice family photo - good Catholic blog

Thanks to Clare for leaving a comment on a previous post, I have discovered another good blog entitled Battlements of Rubies. Am not quite sure of the significance of the blog title. The author, being Irish, has written a significant appraisal of Pope Benedict's letter to the Irish Church.

Pro-life campaigns in schools: The best of times and the worst of times.

Yesterday I went to St Bede's Clapham Park to join other priests at an excellent talk by Antonia Tully (pictured here with parish priest Father Christopher Basden and yours truly), SPUC's co-ordinator of its "Safe at School" campaign. Antonia is herself a mother of six children so she knows a thing or two about the pervasive advance of sex-education in schools.

The talk was followed by Benediction and a nice meal. (It was, after all, St Patrick's Day.)

Beginning with the bad news, she gave an overview of the sorts of things that are going on in schools up and down the land and how the State seeks to embed contraceptive and abortion advice in every sphere of a child's life. She instanced erroneous RE resources, problematic resources in the science curriculum as well as those used in SRE

Connexions is a particular problem. Secondary schools are legally obliged to involve a Connexions advisor. Although ostensibly a careers advice agency, it is actually quite an intrusive organisation. Secondary schools pass on all the contact details of their pupils to Connexions so that an advisor can contact the pupils directly. Antonia related how she was surprised when an advisor phoned asking for one of her children at home. As well as providing careers advice, Connexions is more than ready to offer pupils confidential advice on sexual health matters, as you will see from its home page.

On the good news side, Antonia said that since things were so bad, good things were also occuring and she referred to the "This is my body" resource for primary schools. The programme is published by Philos Educational Publishing and was developed in association with the Education Service of the Diocese of Lancaster and it is now the official programme of that diocese.It is proving immensely successful and popular with both children and teachers. Whereas the State wishes primary school children to receive 'sex education', children at that age are not normally concerned with sex but with the wonder of who they are and where they came from. The fetal models particularly capture the imagination of the young child and lead pupils to an understanding of the existence of life in the womb. They are made of a soft material which mimics human flesh very effectively. The resource also comes with rulers, a teachers resource book, a pupil's resource and a copy of Angel in the Waters. It would be marvellous this were widely disseminated in our schools.

If you haven't signed yet...

Go and sign the petition Against Government Led Sex Education in Catholic Schools that I have blogged about previously (here, here, and here).

Just to remind you, it reads as follows and I gather from Fr Tim Finigan that it closes this Friday, 19th March, Solemnity of St Joseph:

UPDATE FROM THE PETITION ORGANISERS: The petition will be kept open until 25th March, then sent to the Bishops and to Rome.

To:  Bishops of England and Wales
We, the undersigned, call upon the Bishops of England and Wales and the Catholic Education Service to fulfil their duty as guardians of our Catholic Faith and unequivocally reject recent Government measures forcing Catholic schools to teach what is explicitly condemned by the Church, viz: presenting active homosexuality as an acceptable alternative lifestyle, and providing information on the nature - and provision - of contraception and abortion services. Compliance on the part of the Bishops and the CES in such measures would effectively render our schools no longer Catholic in any meaningful sense, and would place the faith and moral life of our children in jeopardy. As Catholic parents, teachers and pastors, we earnestly beg of you, our Shepherds in Christ, that you do not allow this to happen.
Sincerely, 

Currently there are 1,830 signatures.

Britain a 'top priority' for boy-size condoms

This from this week's edition of 'The Week':

Extra small condoms for boys as young as 12 are going on sale in Switzerland - and manufacturers are eyeing up Britain as their next potential target. The condoms, called Hotshot, were produced by Lamprecht AG, after studies showed that a growing number of 12 to 14-year olds were sexually active, but that a quarter of boys aged 13 to 20 found standard condoms too large. The firm says Britain will be a "top priority" if it expands abroad.

The sexualisation of our youngsters is big money. It will of course lead to more abortions for more young girls.

I see that this has already been widely reported. (Daily Mail, NY Daily News)

This is of course entirely in line with the Government's Every Child Matters "programme of change to improve outcomes for all children and young people... (taking) forward the Government's vision of radical reform for children, young people and families." and which is a key programme that all schools (Catholic schools included) in the UK are assessed on.

Father Ray Blake has signed that petition.

His signature is no.1608.

What has Britain come to?

This, frankly, pornographic DVD being shown to kids in school (I won't post the pictures - you can see them for your self and watch an excerpt from the video on youtube.) Sex is for grownups who 'find someone they like a lot'! That's what 7 years olds are taught.

Note: this film is being shown in primary schools to 7 year olds. To watch it on youtube, you must declare you are over 18 and log on as it is considered adult material. At least youtube have standards!

Why Catholic Schools cannot teach pupils about accessing abortion etc.

Father Hugh MacKenzie, parish priest of St Mary Magdalen's, Willesden Green, has written about this on his parish blog.

1. On 23rd February last Ed Balls, the Minister for Children Schools and Families, said that from September 2011 Catholic schools will by law need to teach pupils “how to access contraception, [and] how to use contraception. [...] they must explain how to access an abortion". Also, incredibly, Mr Balls implied that the Catholic Church was supporting such measures.

2. Actually it is impossible for Catholic schools to do this without contradicting their very nature as Catholic. This is because it would be “formal” cooperation with a very wrong act, e.g. ending the life of an unborn baby. It’s wrong to give boxing gloves to bullies or to inform an intent robber about quick lock-picking, in the (forlorn) hope that they’d do less damage. This is because you become an accomplice. It is a principle basic to the Catholic moral tradition and, therefore, enshrined in western legal traditions under "aiding, abetting and encouraging crime". It flows from Christ's revelation and right reason.

Read more...

It is not disloyal to sign this petition

My learned and esteemed colleague and friend Father Ray Blake raises objections to the petition I referred to in a previous post. I respectfully disagree with him.

The rights and obligations of the Christian Faithful are dealt with in the Code of Canon Law.

Can. 211 - All the Christian faithful have the duty and right to work so that the divine message of salvation more and more reaches all people in every age and in every land.

This clearly acknowledges the right of the faithful to use the modern means of mass communications, such as blogs, to propagate the Gospel.

But more significantly for the current matter:

Can. 212#1. - Conscious of their own responsibility, the Christian faithful are bound to follow with Christian obedience those things which the sacred pastors, inasmuch as they represent Christ, declare as teachers of the faith or establish as rulers of the Church.

When the Bishops declare on a matter as teachers of the faith, we must give our assent and obey. However:

Can. 212 #2. - The Christian faithful are free to make known to the pastors of the Church their needs, especially spiritual ones, and their desires.

Sometimes the faithful will approach their pastors as needy children and plead for what they consider to be their needs and desires. If these needs and desires are something they have a right to then there is a complementary obligation on the part of the pastors not only to listen to the faithful but to ensure that those needs and desires are satisfied. I think the petition in question is a fine example of filial pleading with our Fathers in God. There is no insubordination in the wording of the petition, but rather a request for succour and assistance. It might be argued that the faithful who sign the petition should approach the pastors individually. But Can. 212 #2 does not stipulate how the faithful are to make their needs know to the pastors. The use of modern communications is by no means excluded. It is also possible that many people feel that they have got nowhere in the past and so they have chosen to take recourse to this more public form of manifestation. This web-based petition also enables many more people to more easily exercise the right referred to in Can. 212 #2.

#3. - According to the knowledge, competence, and prestige which they possess, they have the right and even at times the duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known to the rest of the Christian faithful, without prejudice to the integrity of faith and morals, with reverence toward their pastors, and attentive to common advantage and the dignity of persons.

It is clear that in the petition there is nothing which threatens the integrity of faith or morals. The Church's teaching is clear on homosexuality, contraception and abortion, which are the matters referred to in the petition. Furthermore, those who have proposed the petition and many of those signing it will be:

• parents who are experts and experienced in the education and bringing up of their children in the ways of God;
• teachers who are faced with the dilemma of introducing this objectionable material into the classroom;
• priests who are experts in morals and who, on a daily basis, engage pastorally with their parishioners - parents, children, young, old - and who often deal with the hurt caused by lost innocence, the abuse of sex through the use of contraception, the healing needed by the post-abortion victim;
• lay faithful who pray outside abortion clinics and witness the ever-increasing destruction of human life and the coarsening of consciences of those involved in abortion or who are victims of it

and others, all of whom have the knowledge and competence, if not the prestige, referred to in the above Canon. There are also many experts who work in pro-life organisations and who work on a daily basis in the battle to save lives in the face of a hugely powerful and efficiently financed abortion industry and whose voices perhaps appear not have been heeded by the pastors.

The petition pays ample respect to the pastors and is therefore 'attentive to ... the dignity of persons'. It refers to the Bishops as 'our Shepherds in Christ'. It would appear that the 'common advantage' is obvious: that to repulse this Government legislation will be for the good of souls, whereas to acquiesce in it and, worse, to actually support it, would cause great harm to souls and to society. The 'advantage' of our Catholic schools is also at stake.

Here is one comment which has been left on the petition which should make us all think:

Sacred Heart High School in Hammersmith taught the girls in my daughters' PSHE class to put a condom on a life-size model of a penis. How is this compatible with Catholic doctrine? (Signature no. 395)

If nothing else would convince you to sign, I think this comment should.

So, read it again and, if convinced, sign.

We, the undersigned, call upon the Bishops of England and Wales and the Catholic Education Service to fulfil their duty as guardians of our Catholic Faith and unequivocally reject recent Government measures forcing Catholic schools to teach what is explicitly condemned by the Church, viz: presenting active homosexuality as an acceptable alternative lifestyle, and providing information on the nature - and provision - of contraception and abortion services. Compliance on the part of the Bishops and the CES in such measures would effectively render our schools no longer Catholic in any meaningful sense, and would place the faith and moral life of our children in jeopardy. As Catholic parents, teachers and pastors, we earnestly beg of you, our Shepherds in Christ, that you do not allow this to happen.

Petition the Bishops on Sex Education in Catholic Schools

If you would like to sign the following petition, click here.

We, the undersigned, call upon the Bishops of England and Wales and the Catholic Education Service to fulfil their duty as guardians of our Catholic Faith and unequivocally reject recent Government measures forcing Catholic schools to teach what is explicitly condemned by the Church, viz: presenting active homosexuality as an acceptable alternative lifestyle, and providing information on the nature - and provision - of contraception and abortion services. Compliance on the part of the Bishops and the CES in such measures would effectively render our schools no longer Catholic in any meaningful sense, and would place the faith and moral life of our children in jeopardy. As Catholic parents, teachers and pastors, we earnestly beg of you, our Shepherds in Christ, that you do not allow this to happen.

Britain and Sex Ed: Zenit sums it up!

The following is from yesterday's Zenit news.

In the Name of Diversity

Catholics in England might like someone of Cardinal Martino's caliber at the moment.

This week, the U.K. parliament voted to pass an amendment to a bill that, according to the government and an agency of the Catholic Church, will allow faith schools to teach sex education according to their religious ethos.

But pro-life organizations and many orthodox-thinking Catholics say the amendment is deceptive and misleading, as it will still require all schools, including Catholic schools, to give information about contraception, abortion, and homosexual partnerships in the name of equality and diversity. The government's education minister, Ed Balls, seemed to admit as much on a BBC radio program on the day of the vote.

"They can explain the views of their faith," he said, "but what they can't do is say that they are not going to teach children about contraception, how to access contraception, or how to use contraception." He added that what the bill changes is that for the first time "these schools cannot just ignore these issues or teach only one side of the argument."

Teachers in faith schools, he said, will have to teach "different views on homosexuality, they cannot teach homophobia, they must explain civil partnership and must give a balanced view on abortion. They must explain both sides of the argument and how to access an abortion. The same is true on contraception as well."

Faith schools will, therefore, now be obliged to instruct young girls on where to kill a child in their womb, say pro-life organizations. They also say there are many other aspects to this legislation which will "advertise" to pupils pro-abortion messages, mandate the teaching of lurid sexual material, and ultimately lead to the further "sexualization of children." As one observer put it: Catholic schools will from now on be coerced by the state’s concept of ‘neutrality’, to present as ‘choice’ what hitherto has "not been a choice; to give pupils the options as though they were all morally equivalent; to promote what has traditionally been judged to be ‘sin’. It is facilitation under the guise of information."

But the Catholic Education Service, the agency which has worked with the government on the bill and which is governed by the bishops of England and Wales, supports the legislation. It insists that the teaching of all aspects of the curriculum in Catholic schools "reflects their religious ethos," and that sex education "will be rooted in the Catholic Church's teaching of the profound respect for the dignity of all human persons."

This hasn't placated pro-life organizations, some of which feel "utterly betrayed" by agency's stance. One group said the new curriculum "is going to put conscientious Catholic teachers, parents and young people in an utterly invidious position." So far, only Cardinal Keith Patrick O'Brien, president of the Scottish bishops' conference, has spoken out on the Church's behalf against this week's vote on the bill. The bishops of England and Wales are expected to comment once they reach an agreement on a way forward but some suspect they wanted the amendment passed just in case the bill cannot be defeated.

Some priests and laity see this legislation as the fruit of decades of dissent within the Catholic Church in Britain. And both inside and outside the Church, this bill is being viewed as flagrantly opposed to the natural moral law which governments are supposed to uphold.

Benedict XVI reminded the bishops of England and Wales earlier this month that such legislation which restricts religious freedom "actually violates the natural law upon which the equality of all human beings is grounded." He then urged them to ensure that the Church's moral teaching "be always presented in its entirety and convincingly defended." Fidelity to the Gospel, he said, "in no way restricts the freedom of others -- on the contrary, it serves their freedom by offering them the truth."

The legislation will now head to the House of Lords where much hard work is expected to ensure the bill is defeated.

Catholic Schools - can they remain Catholic?

The Government got its Children, Families and Education Bill passed yesterday which will, if passed (corrected following a comment from Simon Platt), make it compulsory for Sex and Relationships Education to be taught in all schools, including Catholic Schools. The fact that the CES claims credit for an amendment allowing SRE to be taught within the context of Church teaching is worthless since it is still a legal requirement that all children be taught about contraception and abortion and how to access these services. Our schools will therefore be legally required to co-operate in the evils of contraception and abortion.

We must pray for our Bishops to simply say 'No.' No one is obliged to obey an unjust law. In fact Divine law demands that we resist unjust laws and, if forced, to disobey unjust laws. We must also pray for those who teach in our Catholic Schools that their consciences will be guided by the Holy Spirit, even if those in authority in the Church fail to give such guidance.

I have really very little to add to my previous posts or to what is said by the the following amongst others:
Fr Ray Blake
SPUC
Fr Tim Finigan
Kate