Bishops call for stop to implementation of Education for Citizenship

Madrid, Spain, Jun 5, 2008 / 14:50 pm

The bishops of the dioceses of Galicia in northern Spain are defending the rights of parents to “determine the moral education of their children” and are calling for the implementation of the school course Education for Citizenship to be stopped.

 

In preparation for the next school year, the bishops issued a statement reiterating “the teaching that the Bishops’ Conference of Spain have put forth in various documents” on the course and said that among the rights that make freedom and peace possible in society is “the right of parents to choose the kind of moral and religious foundation they want for their children.”

 

“The State cannot legitimately impose a moral formation of the consciences of students apart from the free choice of parents, as is the aim in the course Education for Citizenship and in the decrees that develop it,” the bishops explained.

 

They also noted that “students cannot be forced to understand and adhere to fundamental values through a legal imposition by political powers and that this does nothing to ensure peaceful coexistence.”

 

The Education for Citizenship course, which was created by the Spanish government, promotes abortion, homosexuality, gender ideology, atheism and secularism. It is mandatory for all students and the government has refused to allow parents to withdraw their children from the classes.