FOCUS:Protecting the innocence of children

Protecting THE INNOCENCE OF CHILDREN:

the Christian home at the heart of the decisive battle

In September 2020, compulsory sex and relationships education is due to be introduced to schools in England. The Catholic Church has consistently recognised parents as the primary educators of their children. The bishops of England and Wales, however, are backing government plans that will end the statutory right of parents to withdraw their children from programmes promoting LGBT ideology and “confidential” access to contraception and abortion.

In response to the abandonment of Catholic parents a new pro-family initiative has been formed by the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), the Latin Mass Society, the Good Counsel Network, and Catholic Man UK. The Coalition in Defence of Primary Educators is calling on lay Catholics to pray and offer sacrifices to obtain the grace that the bishops of England and Wales will return to the fight and lead the defence of the families in their care.

The group’s inaugural event was a two-day pilgrimage of prayer and discussion for the feast of the Immaculate Conception at the Shrine of Our Lady at Walsingham. In 1061, Lady Richeldis of Walsingham had a dream in which the Blessed Virgin showed her the Holy House of Nazareth and requested that one like it be built in Walsingham. Richeldis did this and Our Lady promised that: “Whosoever seeks my help here will not go away empty-handed.” The shrine was to become a place of prayer and pilgrimage ranked fourth in the medieval world after Jerusalem, Compostela and Rome. Throughout its turbulent history, Walsingham, “England’s Nazareth”, has remained a site of devotion to the Blessed Virgin.

Encouraged by the words of Pope Leo XIII, “When England returns to Walsingham, Our Lady will return to England”, and taking as its theme Acts 1:14 which describes the disciples as “perseverantes unianimiter in oratione” (persevering with one mind in prayer) with the Mother of the Lord, the pilgrimage culminated in a Rosary procession, led by fathers of families, some walking barefoot, to the ruins of the ancient priory.

Welcoming pilgrims, John Smeaton, CEO of SPUC, said:

“Our procession praying the Rosary to Walsingham Priory will be led by fathers, who have a particular responsibility to defend their families when the innocence of their children is under attack.

“The purpose of our pilgrimage is to ask Our Lady to pray that God will transform the Catholic bishops of England and Wales so that they lead the lay faithful in resisting the British government’s wicked legislation which makes Relationships Education compulsory at primary school and Relationships and Sex Education compulsory at secondary school, including compulsory LGBT relationships at secondary level.” (See p.18)

Also addressing the event, Dr. Tom Rogers, SPUC’s education manager, outlined the longstanding cooperation between the Catholic Education Service (CES), with the approval of the bishops, and the secular authorities pushing anti-life and anti-family sex education. This situation, he explained, has worsened under Pope Francis.

In Chapter 7 of Amoris laetitia, Pope Francis calls for sex education to be taught in a way that lets children learn for themselves rather than imposing “absolute and unquestionable truths.” Dr. Rogers pointed out that this approach is actually quite disturbing:

“Let’s not tell children that with God there are absolute truths or commandments we need to adhere to – especially when it comes to marriage and sexual morality. Just let them get on...and learn for themselves what are vaguely termed ‘certain values, principles and norms.’”

He described the new sex education legislation, passed by the Westminster Parliament in March 2019, as a completely secular liberal view of human sexuality. He explained that the programme is to be ‘LGBT inclusive’ and portray homosexual relationships in a positive manner. Although not an absolute in primary schools, it is strongly urged even there. Teenagers will be encouraged to “explore” their developing “sexual orientation” and “gender identity”. Marriage is redefined to include “same-sex marriage” and presented as one of a range of relationship types.

Secondary school children are to be provided with comprehensive “non-judgmental” information on contraception and abortion. They will be signposted as to where and how to obtain contraception and abortions without the knowledge of their parents. Carrying an unborn child to term is presented simply as one of the possible options when pregnant.

“The role of the school, teachers and the state has been greatly expanded into areas up to now considered the rightful and natural territory of parental responsibility. The new compulsory subjects (including Health Education) attempt to cover virtually every aspect of the child’s moral formation, health and well-being. This will further undermine and discourage good, conscientious parenting,” Dr. Rogers said.

The new statutory guidance has been welcomed by the Catholic Education Service, and as Dr. Rogers pointed out, the CES has published at least two

documents promoting the moral acceptability of homosexuality: Learning to Love (2017), which refers to same-sex relationships as being able to constitute a “powerful” and “an exalted form of love,” equal to that of man and woman, and Made in God’s Image: Challenging homophobic and biphobic bullying in Catholic schools (2017; 2nd ed. 2018).

“Children are essentially being instructed by the CES that if they experience negative emotions about ‘homosexuality’ – if they have an aversion to the idea of homosexuality (including homosexual behaviour or advances?) then there is something wrong with them – they have an irrational fear – which is even ‘sinful’. This is the corruption of children,” he said, “this is grooming!”

The connection between the widespread exploitation of children and the modern education system was also highlighted by Dr. Joseph Shaw of the Latin Mass Society. The rejection of Christian morality, he said, has resulted in the educational establishment promoting the principle of consent as the only justified concern when judging sexual behaviour. (See p.22)

Mrs. Lucy Shaw spoke at length about how the role of women in the home has been denigrated by feminism and the social consequences of its attack on family life. (See p.30)

The scale and ferocity with which the innocence of children is now assaulted means that, without supernatural help, it will soon become impossible for parents to defend their own families. With the clear understanding that the Christian home itself has become the centre of the decisive battle between Our Lord and the reign of Satan, the“Perseverantes unianimiter in oratione” initiative seeks to implore the Blessed Mother, the mediatrix of all graces, to supply the help so desperately needed to resist these attacks.

If you wish to receive further information on the Coalition in Defence of Primary Educators and its upcoming events, please email John Smeaton at johnsmeaton@spuc.org.uk.