JOHN SMEATON, DIRECTOR OF SPUC: Scottish Catholic leaders and others defend parents' rights

Saturday, 10 May 2014

Scottish Catholic leaders and others defend parents' rights

Yesterday I reported that the leaders of Scotland's largest NHS boards want every Scottish child to be brainwashed into accepting same-sex marriage, and to be given the power overrule their parents' objection to such "sex education".

I am in Scotland and was greeted by this news when I picked up my morning newspaper yesterday morning.

How encouraging, then, to pick up my morning paper this morning and to read another story. The Telegraph reports that Catholic Church leaders in Scotland and leaders of the Kirk are fighting back, accusing NHS boards of making an "inappropriate" and "highly political" intervention and of actively undermining "the rights and consciences of parents".

Whilst I've been in Scotland these past few days I have met a number of church leaders and I am not surprised to note the strength of their immediate defence of parental rights.

I am not surprised, but I'm also mightily relieved that Catholic Church leaders and others in Scotland and others have spoken out. Let's just reflect again on what The Telegraph reported yesterday: in a letter from Scotland's largest health boards to Scottish government ministers, NHS leaders have protested against new draft sex education guidance. The Telegraph report states:

"Allowing children to withdraw from sex education lessons on the grounds of conscience risks them coming under pressure from parents opposed to gay marriage, the health boards warned.

"Instead they argued that the guidance should include greater protections against parents mounting campaigns against the content of the lessons. Children should be given the power to overrule their mothers and fathers, it was suggested."

As I said in my speech at the Legatus Convention in Orlando:

" ... we cannot defeat the culture of death which threatens constantly to overwhelm us on our own. Pro-life organizations and the wider community must be fortified by unequivocal, unyielding voices of Catholic Church officials and bishops throughout the world"

... as well as other church leaders.

As the threat in England grows (as I reported yesterday), I pray that we will see similar robust leadership from church leaders in our country too.

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About Me

I became involved in SPUC after graduating, when I established a branch in south London in 1974. I have worked full-time for SPUC for 42 years. I became chief executive of SPUC in the UK in 1996, having been general secretary since 1978. I was elected vice-president of International Right to Life Federation in 2005. At UN conferences in Cairo, Copenhagen, Beijing, Istanbul and Rome, I helped coordinate more than 150 pro-life/pro-family groups resulting in pro-life victories in Cairo, Istanbul and Rome. I was educated at Salesian College, London, before going to Oxford where I graduated in English Language and Literature. I qualified as a teacher, becoming head of English at a secondary school. I am married to Josephine. We have a grown-up family and we live in north London.