Archbishop says Church only supports authentic and complete sexual education

Buenos Aires, Argentina, May 14, 2008 / 17:48 pm

Archbishop Hector Aguer of La Plata in Argentina said this week the Catholic Church is not opposed to sex-ed in schools but rather, asks officials to propose programs based on “education in love, chastity, marriage and the family.”

“It is often said that the Church is against sexual education. False,” the archbishop said.  “We oppose teaching a notion of human sexuality in schools that is devoid of any reference to the nature of the person and his acts and that conveys biased information and recommends the dubious security that contraceptives and condoms offer.”

“This kind of incomplete and explicit teaching does not take into account the emotional and relational dimensions, the need for self-discipline and respect for objective values. Such a focus carries with it the risk of encouraging teens to engage prematurely and irresponsibly in sexual activity,” the archbishop said.

According to the Argentinean prelate, “The foundations of this reductionist version of education are found in gender ideology, in constructivist sociology and in the ideas of Michel Foucault, who said that sexuality had been confiscated by the family in order to make it merely an issue of reproduction.  The implicit intention is, then, to liberate Argentinean adolescents from this ‘cultural stereotype.’  With such guidance we should fear for the destruction of the family and the subsequent ruin of society.”

He also warned against recent attempts to promote sterilization in the schools of Buenos Aires, saying such moves merit “the most serious ethical rejection” as they promote mutilation of the body.  The archbishop also criticized officials for trying to silence the Church from speaking out about such practices.  Not only the bishops, he said, but all citizens have the right and the duty to work to prevent the passage of laws that contradict the moral order.