In 2007 the U. S. Bishops published a document titled, Catechetical Formation in Chaste Living: Guidelines for Curriculum Design and Publication.  It could be very good.

Begun in 2003 and approved by the Bishops at their November 2007 meeting by a vote of 212 to 3, it was the result of an effort which began about a decade ago.  At that time, Bishop Hughes of New Orleans reported on the terrible state of catechetical materials published over the past 35 years and in use in schools and CCD programs.  A Bishops' Catechism Committee was tasked with bringing Catechetical materials in line with the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  Thus, a new National Directory for Catechesis was published in 2005.  The recently published Catechetical Formation in Chaste Living: Guidelines for Curriculum Design and Publication was begun in 2003.

The Good News

The new Chaste Living Guidelines introduction states that it "is designed to guide publishers in the development of new religion texts for students in preschool through twelfth grade and to assist in curriculum development by diocesan and parish catechetical leaders."  The introduction continues:  "This new set of catechetical guidelines focuses specifically on catechetical formation in Catholic faith and morals as well as virtues for chaste living.  Proper reference to human anatomy or physiology is to be made only to the degree necessary to teach morality and virtue.  The content of these guidelines acknowledges the primary role of parents in giving a concrete or more specific education in human sexuality. 

If the Bishops actually put this document into effect, all currently used religion texts would have to be replaced.  The K-12 sex education program that have been accosting the children with classroom sex instruction over the last four decades would also no longer be valid.  Hope would be that their year-after-year of rehashing body parts is finally coming to an end!  In other words, if the Bishops follow their new Guidelines, all previously mandated materials, such as the infamous
Growing in Love and Benziger Family Life and countless others would be in the trash heap where they belong.  The same goes for the explicity, anti-parent, classroom child abuse prevention programs, euphemistically called "safe environment," which are in violation of these new Guidelines and therefore invalid.  Hopefully, armed with these Guidelines, parents and grandparents can seize this opportunity to sweep out all classroom sex instruction from their local schools and CCD programs.

While the Bishops have not announced an outright ban on classroom sex education, they appear to have taken a new direction (at least on paper) that we have not seen in forty years.  Gone is the term "sexual catechesis" and talk of "sexual beings" so prevalent in previous Bishops' documents.  Thankfully none of the liberal documents promoting "sexuality education" issued by the Bishops over the last several decades are even mentioned in these new Guidelines.  (Some of our specific concerns will be mentioned later in this article.) Instead, it is refreshing to see that the Bishop' 24-page Formation in Chaste Living Guidelines is asking for a return to the teaching of the Catholic Faith, encouragement of prayer, the Sacraments "especially Penance and Reconciliation and the Eucharist, and to cultivate the virtues that enable people to lead a chaste and holy life."

Part I:  The Teaching of the Church

The Guidelines are divided into two parts.  Part I: "The Teaching of the Church" references the Catechism of the Catholic Church repeatedly as it begins with the Genesis account of Adam and Eve, Original Sin and its effects, and the plan for "everyone's redemption."  This leads to Jesus Christ, Son of God and our Redeemer and our need to follow  Christ because "We do not lead a moral life on our own."  The Guidelines continue to reference the Catechism, God's Ten Commandments, including the basic teachings of the Church, and the Virtues with an emphasis on Chastity.   After years of secularized and psychologized religion that produced Catholics in name only who knew nothing of their Faith, it is a blessing to see this new call by the Bishops to bring back the basics of the Faith.

It is hopeful to see that the Bishop' Guidelines have finally taken notice of the Vatican document Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality: Guidelines for Education Within the Family.  When the Truth and Meaning document was released at the end of 1995, the Bishops generally paid it no mind, claiming they were already complying with the document, and continued mandating and publishing even newer filthy sex programs.  We would hope that these new Guidelines will be the catalyst that will prompt Bishops to finally obey Church teaching which clearly states that matters related to sex belong within the family, not the classroom.  These new Guidelines often references chastity, and these references are almost exclusively both the Catechism and the Truth and Meaning document.  At long last, gone from the new Guidelines are signs of the previous Bishops' dependence on Planned Parenthood and their affiliates who were the architects of all classroom sex ed.

Within the new Guidelines and under "formation in" and "benefits of" chastity the Bishops have listed many of the long ignored Church teachings including the "practice of decency and modesty in behavior, dress, and speech" and "the respect for one's own body and for others as temples of the Holy Spirit," and even "avoiding occasions of sin."

The new Bishop Guidelines also address a lengthy list of "violations of chastity with varying degrees of gravity."  Mentioned again, at the top of the list is "immodest behavior, dress or speech."  The list also includes a paragraph on specific precautions regarding the dangers of the internet: "for viewing pornography, for being preyed upon by others, for writing explicitly through blogs and instant messaging, and for posting inappropriate sexually explicit or suggestive photos, messages, rumors etc. on popular social networking web sites."  Along with "violations of chastity:" one finds "masturbation, use of contraceptives...premarital sex...cohabitation, homosexual sexual activity" which are listed along with references that include mostly Biblical passages and the Catechism. " (N. 26)  In contrast, during the past thirty years in Catholic schools, masturbation has often been subtly promoted, if not outwardly suggested in sex ed materials, and use of contraceptives and sexual activity has also been explicitly explained.  Sadly the result of this siege of sex indoctrination has produced Catholic adults who are completely unaware that the Church has ever taught  the wrongness of such things.

Now after many years, the Bishops have brought the word "sin" out of moth balls, and in these new Guidelines, one reads:  "Violations of chastity are sinful, some of them gravely sinful.  To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God's merciful love means remaining separated from Him forever.  Mortal sins against chastity bring great risk to our salvation and open the possibility for eternal damnation." [N. 27]

And under N. 28: "For any who fail to live chaste lives, Jesus Christ offers through His Church opportunities for forgiveness through the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.  Regular reception of the Sacrament of the Eucharist, as well as prayer and good works can help us maintain chaste living."  Again the references are the Catechism.

Conjugal love between husband and wife is mentioned in N. 29 and says in part:  "When conjugal love is faithful, exclusive and open to life, it is a blessing to the couple and through them to the Church and to the world."  How refreshing that is after years of babies-as-burdens classroom sex indoctrination!

The Guidelines section on "Church Teaching on Special Issues of Concern" again puts "Pornography" at the top of the list.  After being nailed to the wall with so many cases of sexual child abuse within their ranks, the Bishops have been forced to admit the dangers inherent in pornography.  While they now warn about pornography being addictive, Bishops have not yet admitted that sex education is pornographic and may well have been, at least in part, the fuel that led to today's pornography addicts.  The decades of desentization through repeated exposure to body parts, the titillation through familiarization of the sexual vocabulary, the discussion and even exposure (by film/video) to sexual acts, all of which have been part of the Catholic classroom sex education has not only been a subtle introduction and seduction to the world of pornography, but made pornography acceptable in the developing minds of youth.  Even worse it has made children vulnerable to being sexually abused.  It is no mere coincidence that the numerous homosexual molestations of young boys by so many clergy was concurrent with sex ed in the classroom.

Among other listed "Issues of Concern" are "Contraceptive Mentality and Practice, Premarital and Extramarital Sex, Divorce, Cohabitation, Sexual Abuse, Homosexual Activity, and Same Sex Marriage and Reproductive Technologies."

Part II: Passing on the Teaching of the Church

Passing on the "Teaching of the Church" begins with The Role of Pastors enunciating their duty and responsibility to educate and form the faithful in accord with Church teaching in the area of chaste living, "to serve as models of chaste living for the community, as they work to insure that the education and formation of all the faithful in chaste living is in accord with the Church's teaching."

Following is The Role of Parents/Guardians.  Reinforced is that "Parents/Guardians are to be the first and foremost educators of their children.  This God-given responsibility cannot legitimately be taken away by other powers or institutions."

This is followed by the statement that the pastors "have a responsibility to insure that the education offered the young is in accordance with Church teaching." References here are primarily to the Vatican's Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality (TMHS document N. 37-47) which clearly states that: "God gives them [parents] the grace to carry out their mission adequately;" and enriches them with wisdom, counsel, fortitude and all the other gifts of the Holy Spirit in order to help their children in their growth as human beings and as Christians."

The Church supports and encourages them [parents], confident that they can carry out this function better than anyone else."  The Truth and Meaning document quotes John Paul II's Familiaris Consortio: "The right and duty of parents to give education is essential, since it is connected with the transmission of human life; it is original and primary with regard to the educational role of others, on account of the uniqueness of the loving relationship between parents and children; and it is irreplaceable and inalienable, and therefore incapable of being entirely delegated to others or usurped by others."  Quoting the Charter of the Rights of the Family:  "Since they have conferred life on their children, parents have the original, primary and inalienable right to educate them"  Furthermore, parents would be "failing in their precise duty....were they to tolerate immoral or inadequate formation being given to their children outside the home."  All of the above and more are references to TMHS that are included in the Bishops' new Guidelines.

The Bishops' Guidelines further reinforce the importance of parents' rights to educate their children in matters related to sex by continuing to reference the Truth and Meaning document section "Four Principles Regarding Information About Sexuality" (TMHS N. 65-76).  This section drives home the importance of a child receiving such information from the parents as we read, in part: the parents "are in the best position to decide what the appropriate time is for providing a variety of information, according to their children's physical and spiritual growth.  No one can take this capacity for discernment away from conscientious parents."  The Truth and Meaning document goes on to state what every parent knows that "Each child's process of maturation as a person is different" and "therefore, the most intimate aspects, whether biological or emotional, should be communicated in a personalized dialogue' and should be communicated "with great delicacy, but clearly and at the appropriate time...in a personalized way...and that they discuss this together so that their words will be neither too explicit nor too vague.  Giving too many details to children is counterproductive."  Again this is what is referenced by the Bishops' new Guidelines, which puts the responsibility for the teaching of sexual matters squarely on the parents and NOT in the classroom!!

The section on The Role of Parents ends with the parents being "encouraged to review the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality: Guidelines for Education Within the Family, and the National Directory for Catechesis [USCCB 2005] in fulfilling their roles."

Following the "Parents" section is The Role of Teachers and Catechists.  The teacher instruction continues in the same vein saying: "catechetical formation in chaste living must be presented according to the doctrinal and moral teaching of the Church."  The Guidelines instruct teachers to use the new National Directory for Catechisis and the Truth and Meaning document.  It further states that "Catechists should be living witnesses of all virtue since such witness is an essential part of catechesis."

Again parents are recognized as "the first educators of their children.  Catholic educators do well to focus on providing assistance to parents or guardians.  Suitable materials need to be developed and proivided to assist parents in their important responsibility."  If Bishops are truly serious about this document, they must acknowledge that, overall, classroom texts, to include both religious instruction and sex education materials presently in use, are not in accordance with the teaching of the Church as expressed in these new Guidelines.  Beautiful materials used before the secularization of the Catholic Church, that is the early 1960's and before, produced staunch Catholics who loved and embraced their Faith.  There is no need to "develop" something new, just dust off the excellent tried-and-true materials and send those to the publishers.

Repeated in the new Guidelines are references to the Truth and Meaning document referring to parents' rights and child's rights as well.  One reads that "It is recommended that respect be given to the right of the child and the young person to be adequately informed by their own parents on moral and sexual questions in a way that complies with his or her desire to be chaste and to be formed in chastity" [TMHS N. 119]."  It is recommended that respect be given to the right of the child or young person to withdraw from any form of sexual instruction imparted outside the home.  Neither the children nor other members of the family should ever be penalized or discriminated against for this decision (TMHS N. 120).

Mothers' Watch would like to note just how out-of-touch with the needs of children the Bishops who are supposed to be the protectors of the curriculum have been.  When a Vatican document had to go as far as to specifically address the child himself regarding harmful curriculum in the classroom, and tell the child that he can withdraw from any sex education outside the home, that screams of serious faulted sex education.  Instead of being protected the the Catholic classroom, the child must have the mental and emotional maturity to protect his own self by withdrawing.  That is outrageous.  If the materials are offensive enough for even one child, they are too offensive for all children.

The final section of the Bishop' new Guidelines is The Role of Publishers.  Instructions for the publishers is along the same vein as has been stated thus far.  However, with regard to sexual matters the publishers are referred to the recent National Directory for Catechesis on the Sixth and Ninth Commandment.  Not only does this section reiterate the "virtue of chastity....modest behavior....marital fidelity....practice of prayer" and that "immodest thoughts, words, and actions are morally wrong," but here again is the statement that "parents have the basic right, duty, and primary responsibility to provide education in human sexuality for their children."  The Catechetical Directory states that the parents "may ask the Church to assist them."  The Church has never given license for the K-12 sex education programs that the American Bishops have foisted on all children for the past four decades.

The Guidelines refer publishers to "eight elements of human methodology as appropriate in developing formation resources for chaste living" found in the National Directory for Catechesis.  Most of what is within these elements has been all but non-exixtent in catechetical materials for decades, so to see this is encouraging.  "Catechetical methodology is encouraging.  "Catechetical methodology serves to transmit both the content of the entire Christian message and the source of that message, the Triune God.  These elements include:  the fallen human nature,  redemption in Jesus Christ, the truth about good and evil, the Blessed Virgin Mary full of grace and the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist." 

Very important among the "elements" to be considered one sees again: "Within the Christian family, parents are the primary educators in the faith and "the first heralds of the faith with regard to their children....They [children] learn intermittently rather than systemiatically, occasionally rather than in structured periods."  After forty years another resurrected element is:  "Effective catechesis incorporated learning by heart....Use of memory...forms a constitutive aspect of the pedagogy of the faith since the beginning of Christianity.  The principal formulations of the faith, basic prayers, key biblical themes, personalities, and expressions; and factual information regarding worship and Christian life should be learned by heart."  While this section on memory learning encompasses two full pages of the National Directory for Catechesis, sadly, there is no mention of the basic Catechism, the Baltimore Catechism.  Nothing fills the bill better when it comes to memorization than the Baltimore Catechism developed here in our country.  It has been a very simple and thorough way of learning and memorizing our Faith and of producing Catholics who knew and practiced their Faith.

The Bad News

Under the Role of Publishers, two items are very troublesome.  One finds in the list for late adolescents "knowledge of the signs of fertility...but only in the context of education for love, fidelity in marriage, God's plan for procreation."  This is not a subject for adolescents and could be used as a back door to discuss birth control and worse.  All programs describing signs of fertility are gross and disgusting, and some of the worse Catholic sex programs have been those giving the nitty-gritty details of fertility signs.  Some go so far as to have pre-teens charting mucus.  The myriad of very explicit personal details of fertility is not appropriate and often too embarrassing even for couples in Pre-Cana, let alone young students.  While the Church approves natural family planning, it is only approved for grave or serious reason, not as a "Catholic" alternative for birth control.  This is a total contradiction of all that has been said in these Guidelines.  Why would fertility information be foisted upon children when all the the documents the Bishops have been prominently referencing, all along, say this is the parents' domain.  Furthermore, the teaching of the Church has always encouraged having children, not finding means to avoid them. 

Also concurrent with, and no doubt the result of, Bishops' sex education has been the deterioration of the family.  Instead of fertility signs, Bishops should be teaching and encouraging wholesome family life.  Children need to hear that babies are given to us as blessings from God.  Our mission is to continue God's creation on earth, to bring souls to God by welcoming children.  Because babies are so special, they should in no way be deprived of both a loving mother and father.  Fornication not only risks the soul of the sinners, but may result in cheating an innocent child of his right to a loving family of a mother and father.

Considering the problem created by homosexuals within the clergy one would expect the Bishops to take a strong stance against homosexuality.  However, it is very troubling to see in the Guidelines that: "homosexuality should be discussed at an appropriate age, time and in an appropriate manner that respects people of all sexual inclinations" (emphasis ours).  Does this mean in materials developed for the classroom?  Such a broad statement is worst that naive.  It is contrary and violates all that is contained in these Bishops' Guidelines.  Using the term "sexual inclinations" can include prurient interest in both sexes, in animals, other unmentionable, or kooky males dressing as women.

Here the Guidelines reference the Bishops' weak document, Ministry to Persons with a Homoxexual Inclination (2006).  The homosexual document is 26 pages of a mostly be-kind-to-homosexuals message with only a brief mention about homosexual acts being "contrary to natural law" and "objectively sinful."  In light of the vilest of abuse being inflected upon young boys by homosexual clergy, one would think the Bishops would have made this area of the Guidelines tough.  The Bishops' document on homosexuals should have been a strong caution against allowing young boys or girls to develop questionable relationships with adult males and /or females.  Above all, parents and all who work with children should be warned to be aware of homosexuals and what influence they might have on the innocents.

Noticeably missing from the Guidelines is a section for the "Role of Bishops."  It is Bishops who must play a crucial role in implementing these new Guidelines.  The publishers would not have been putting out years and years of secularized and sexualized materials had it not been for the Bishops.  It is the Bishops, the supposed shepherds who have built themselves walls so as not to hear the parents cries for the sake of children.  It is Bishops who set themselves up as lord and master giving their approval and mandating the vilest sex instruction that has led generations away from "chaste living" and from the Church.  Entire K-8 programs and textbooks are emblazoned with the Bishops' imprimatur of approval.  Therefore, the Role of Publishers must first and foremost be the Role of Bishops.  The first test will be to see if Bishops issue statements requiring schools to remove classroom sex education materials.

The New Hope

With these concerns aside, the new Guidelines are at last, a glimmer of hope, a step forward.  If implemented by the Bishops in their own diocese, weak religion programs will have to be replaced with true Catholic catechesis.  The Bishops will finally have to do away with the vile, filthy classroom sex education programs that have dominated religion classes and sexualized untold numbers of students.  Hopefully the Bishops will call upon God's Grace and attempt to right the wrongs they have caused.  We are beginning to see increasing numbers of American Bishops who take their role seriously and God bless them.

Unfortunately for children especially, Bishops do not act swiftly.  At least one generation of children have already passed through the Catholic school system since the Cardinals and Bishops met in Rome in 1995 at the Congregation of Catholic Education meeting to discuss the fact that Catholic classroom texts and other teaching materials were not faithful to the teaching of the Church.  These same Ecclesiastics also emphasized the need for educatiors to recognize the God-given right of parents to know what is right for their children.  At the expense of the children in Catholic schools, it took almost ten years (1995-2003) for the American Bishops to publicly report that there are flaws so serious in Catholic religion texts, many that are still in use, that they could not be amended, but instead needed to be completely rewritten.  That from the American Bishops was a long five years ago.  Now these latest American Bishops' Guidelines finally attest to the fact that parents, who have been complaining over the past forty years about damaging Catechetical materials, including sex education materials, have been right all along.  To get the often very prideful Bishops to admit that they were wrong, or that their deeply entrenched, and often inflexable functionaries, must remove harmful programs may be another hurdle.

However, this is an important opportunity for parents and grandparents that we have not seen in years and one that must not be allowed to quietly pass.  Parents have always known what is right for their children.  God gives them His Grace to know when He gives them the wonderful gift and responsibility to care for His continuing creation.  It has taken decades for the American Bishops to finally put this on paper.  Now it is going to be incumbent upon the Faithful, especially parents, to see that this document is followed by Bishops, schools and educators.

Whether all the Bishops will uphold their own new Guidelines or whether certain Catholic schools hell-bent on giving explicit instructions in sex will now cease with their corruption of children remains to be seen.  However, this is a window of opportunity for parents to exercise their Faith and become soldiers of Christ, to hold school administrators' and Bishops' feet to the fire and see that the content of these new Formation in Chaste Living Guidelines are followed.  It is up to parents and grandparents to see that this document is not mere words to be ignored for another 40 years, but a vehicle to restore good Catholic materials.  Parents must be instrumental in helping restore the Faith that has been stolen from children for generations in our schools and make this document work for them, but most of all, for the well-being of their children and all children.