New amendment to sex education bill - act now

Tomorrow (Tue 23 Feb.) is the the final main day (report stage and third reading) in the House of Commons on the government's sex education bill. (The bill has yet to be debated in the House of Lords.) The Conservative opposition has tabled a new amendment (no.60) which seeks to exclude sex and relationships education (SRE) from primary schools.

Please email or telephone your MP immmediately to urge him/her to:

• sign and support amendments 2 and 60, tabled by the Conservative opposition for report-stage, and
• vote against the bill as a whole at third reading. Please read SPUC's latest campaign alert for more information and please act straight away.

The danger posed by the Children, Schools and Families (CSF) bill to both born and unborn children - and the Catholic Education Service (CES)'s betrayal of them, which I have focused upon in my recent blogging - is causing Catholic priests and concerned laity to speak out courageously.

Fr Timothy Finigan, founder of the Association of Priests for the Gospel of Life (APGL) condemned the government's so-called assurances as:

"woolly language designed to hide a totalitarian agenda ... The relativism of Ed Balls and his friends who are setting the agenda for secular Britain is actually only applied to the "views" they disagree with, such as Catholic moral teaching on the sanctity of life, marriage, and the procreation of children ... Ed Balls and the DCSF have expertly exploited the weakness of the Catholic Church in England and Wales in its witness to the teaching of the magisterium. The constant support of the CES for its legislation, and the availability of examples such as the school described, enable the Government to take credit for preserving Catholic schools while effectively outlawing Catholic moral teaching in those schools."

Fr Marcus Holden, the co-founder of the (pro-life/pro-family) Evangelium project:

"Having consulted several influential priests and education experts, it seems to me that such laws, if introduced, may spell the end of official Catholic schools in state aided education. What most concerns me, however, is the unethical imposition of a sexual ideology upon our children and their families." 

Fr John Boyle of Ashford, Kent:

"I am afraid I have given up on the CES"

"E F Pastor Emeritus", a priest of Southwark archdiocese:

"[C]ommitted Catholics should refuse to contribute anything to the CES collection".

Mac McLernon, a Catholic teacher:

"The Catholic Education Service is a complete disgrace ... And, once again, SPUC has done a first class job of debunking the latest attempts of the CES to claim credit for getting the Government to back down on the CSF Bill ... [T]he CES...appears to be nothing more than a mouthpiece for the latest Government education policy."

I think these reactions speak volumes about who really speaks for Catholic pro-life/pro-family teaching in England and Wales.

Comments on this blog? Email them to johnsmeaton@spuc.org.uk
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