Pontifical course on affective-sexual education
I was asked to briefly analyze the emotional education curriculum published by the Pontifical Family Council on the occasion of World Youth Day. The course, titled "Place of Encounters, Adventures of Love," can be found free of charge on the Internet, translated into five languages and distributed to many religious professors and missionaries around the world.
Let's start by saying that there are very good aspects to the course. For example, insist on the complementarity between men and women, the objectivity of goodness, and that people are made up of body and soul, so we have no body, but we are body and we are soul. The course recalls that in order for behavior to be morally beneficial, all its elements (object, purpose and environment) must be good. It also regards modesty as a virtue, which helps to protect physical and emotional intimacy. He also recalls that "true freedom is a good capacity" and that "ends cannot justify means" and includes some exciting and moving testimony. Explains the basic virtues and theological virtues (! And quotes Nisa's St Gregory!) Some people even talk about chastity and purity.
All these things (and many others) are very good. In some cases, they are surprisingly good because they are not found in many other courses on this topic. Moreover, there is no doubt about the timeliness of the curriculum on such an important issue and the recognition of the efforts and goodwill of its authors. However, it seems to me that the course also shows some serious flaws that, if left uncorrected, could cause considerable harm. For convenience, I have summarized these shortcomings into seven points:
1) Teaching defects
Unfortunately, this is common for many Catholic lessons and books that seem to have been written by people who have never seen a child in their lifetime. In the course, complex and dense questions are mixed with "exercises" designed for students with Chestnut intelligence level, without order or consistency. For example, in the same unit, explain that God "breathes" our spirit, so that human beings are "physical and spiritual beings", because the soul is "human spiritual principle", and talk about human "physical and emotional values" and "transcendental dimensions". Students were asked to draw a hard egg shell, put their hands on paper and write something on each finger. It seems no exaggeration to point out the great disharmony between intelligence and human level presupposed by one thing and another.
Generally speaking, in my opinion, most of the proposed exercises are a waste of time, which is the most common mistake in this kind of course: Many useless packages distract the material. The course has accumulated hundreds of teaching documents, photos, drawings, movie links, each review, outline, graphics, additional boxes and so on in an overwhelming number. It gives the impression that it was produced by many different teams or authors, which explains its lack of unity and over-expansion.
Of course, this does not disqualify the course, as it is purely technical or pedagogical and therefore less important than the next shortcoming we will discuss, but one would like to get more attention.
2) Courses teach modesty, but not practice
While (commendably) mentioned in the process of the "necessary restoration of modesty", in fact these materials contain unclean photos that I would not teach my children (for example, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). To pretend to educate with unholy photographs is actually to educate in a hidden way, even out of goodwill. Education is not only a matter of rational content expressed in language, but to a great extent, it is taught by example or penetration or nature: Children or teenagers are educated with their parents or teachers, and they not only speak well, but also behave well.
In order to make the course more attractive (I think), all units include movie clips for discussion. It might have been a good idea if it hadn't been for the sheer inappropriateness of a few films (for a young man, and frankly for anyone). Although I don't think the fragment itself contains indecent images, What needs to arouse young people's interest in unwise films, which runs counter to what is to be taught in the course?
As we discussed on another occasion, our world does not understand true sexuality because it mocks modesty and considers it as outdated as yesca and pedernal. The influence of environmental thought is so strong that educators must be especially careful not to let this influence inadvertently penetrate into their teaching, even through the images attached to the text.
3) Actively promote misleading situations
For example, he suggested a "survey" of young people in the group, each of whom should say what attracted him when he saw it, with possible answers ranging from "butt", "genitals" or "chest" to "appearance". This is not an isolated case, but a recurring one: In an exercise, young people must answer " What does the word sex imply? " In the other, they were asked to answer "? What I experienced before my body was exposed ", while in the third person, they had to point out in the outline" where is the sexual behavior of boys and girls ".
Anyone with two fingers knows that asking a group of boys and girls to answer these questions publicly will end in disaster and produce an atmosphere that is the opposite of the respect and exquisiteness they intend to convey. One thing to teach is to speak exquisitely. Back to the same: If we don't practice what we say, young people will learn what we do instead of what we say. Education, especially about, for example, the sense of intimacy that corresponds to sexual behavior, and how to avoid all expressionism, including rude or inappropriate language, green jokes, etc., is crucial.
4) (unconsciously) Take the coming evil occasion as an example
The whole course was designed around the idea of "summer camp", and I think as one of those failed teaching ideas, they thought that in order to teach, we must do everything we can to disperse the subjects we want to convey. In any case, the problem lies in the photos as a model of the camp. The photos were taken by five young men and women on their own on a short trip to camp, a book of guilt that any Catholic parent knows they can't agree with their children. In addition, the photographs implicitly depict and advertise an obvious example of indecent dress patterns, especially for those pants belts that are now so common among girls. If we add that in one of the photos, one of the boys puts his hand on one of the girls' ass, you will understand that it is surprising that they were selected into the course because they destroyed all the theories taught in practice. Unfortunately, in this case, a picture is worth a thousand words
Or promotional video, further study these images as a synthesis of their purposes:
How to Debug Turkish Breast http: //bit.ly/knxEoX
-Wikipedia receipt Saturday, June 25, 2008: April 14, 2011 +0000
Promotional video.
5) Ignoring some important aspects of Christian sexual behavior
In this process, we are talking about sin, but almost always in an abstract or general way, with a certain Gnostic flavor, such as "lovelorn", lack of "light", "selfishness", "mistake" and "chaos". As wise and understanding people have told me, this is intentional: The aim is to produce a more "neutral" text that can also be used in non-Catholic schools and settings.
We don't need much thought to realize that such consideration is absurd, because we all know that non-Catholic schools will not use the curriculum on sexual behavior written by the Pontifical Council of the Vatican. It is another matter to live in an imaginary world, which is not like the real world at all. Particularly if we consider that quotes are drawn from catalogues of teachings and papal quotes, or that in the course we talk about God, the soul, and so on. Which non-Catholic school would use something like this?
In addition, the consequences of this choice are very serious: If we omit important aspects of Christian faith and morality from the topics under discussion so that non-Catholics can accept this course, it is inevitable that we will deprive Catholics of courses in these aspects. "Only God, who [the church] serves, can respond to the deepest wishes of the human heart, which will never be completely satisfied with the food on earth" (Gaudium et Spes 41). "The righteous live by faith" (Romans 1:17), and every aspect of a Christian's life must always be considered in his light, as well as emotional and sexual education.
These omissions greatly weaken the Christian educational power of the curriculum we are analyzing, especially affecting the treatment of politically incorrect or uncomfortable topics, such as contraception, homosexuality, impure thoughts, masturbation and so on. There is no mention of it, but several pages are devoted to the dangers of drug addiction. These omissions are particularly damaging if we consider that all the young people who attend the course will receive continuous anti-education from all over the world, telling them that all these things are good and necessary. There is also no mention of commandments, nor of the existence of serious sins in the sexual realm, which leads to the complete separation of life from God's grace. Abortion itself is regarded as drama and mistake, but it is not a crime.
If these moral issues are not mentioned, the young people who receive the course are deceived because they are given abstract or immoral versions of sexual behavior, or at best, versions whose moral aspects have nothing to do with psychological aspects. (This, by the way, is exactly the world's view of the problem, the major mistake that the Catholic curriculum must oppose). After careful consideration, it is clear that talking about emotional education without sufficient mention of specific morality is the same as cultivating immoral sexual behavior in practice. This is especially true if what we don't explain is the least favorite thing in the non-Christian world.
It has been said in some parts of the Internet that confessions are not mentioned in the course, but this is not the case. Yes, even if no specific name is used, it will be mentioned and suggested, but when you commit a crime, you will go to a priest, just like you go to a physiotherapist when you are injured. Of course, it is best to use this word, but this concept exists. Others say there is no mention of celibacy and dedicated life, but this is not the case, although they probably deserve to be dealt with for a longer time.
In any case, absence will seriously damage the course. It's like systematically omitting three, seven, nine and twenty-five numbers in the basic mathematics course. It is absurd to remove from our curriculum valuable and necessary aspects of Christian views of human beings and their moral life so that non-Catholics can theoretically use them, especially when we already know that non-Catholics will not use them.
6) No parents
The church has always taught that emotional and sex education is first and foremost the responsibility of parents. In this regard, the course often mentions parents and encourages young people to consult on topics discussed with them. I know it's hard because some parents don't want to talk about it with their children, but it's hard not to forgive this serious lack.
Let's say it again: The primary responsibility for educating children lies with their parents. Educators should humbly recognize this primary role and often mention parents. The second Vatican Council recalled many times: "Because parents give their children life...... they are the first and most important educators. This responsibility of family education is so important that when it is missing, it can hardly be compensated "(gravissimum education 3). "Therefore, in order to fulfil their duties as a state, Christian spouses have been strengthened and dedicated by a special sacrament [...] Noble because of the dignity and function of father and mother, they will earnestly fulfil their educational responsibilities, primarily religious education, which is primarily their responsibility" (Gaudium et Spes 48). "Christian spouses [...] for their children, they are the first preachers of the faith and the first [...] This has always been the responsibility of spouses and is now a major part of their apostles [...] to publicly affirm the rights and duties of Christianity to educate future generations, suitable for parents and guardians" (Apostolicam actuositatem 11).
7) Failure on time
Finally, some small but not so small mistakes should be corrected in the editing of this book. Por ejemplo, frases inadecuadas o confusas (“La fe es personal y cambia conmigo”), simplificaciones sorprendentes (“Cuando me ‘enamoro’ de alguien, en lo primero que me fijo es en su cuerpo” o “La libertad es la capacidad que tengo de poder decidir de acuerdo a la razón y según mi voluntad sin que nada ni nadie me lo impida”), la falta de delicadeza en el lenguaje, errores teológicos menores (aparentemente, los autores creen que los ángeles no tienen libertad), la contraposición entre amor y obediencia (“entendieron que lo que Dios deseaba no era otra criatura que le obedeciera, sino que deseaba mucho más: Deseaba una criatura que le amara”), hablar de “relación” en lugar de hablar de “noviazgo”, una aparente justificación del aborto legal (“Siempre teniendo en cuenta por encima de todo el respeto de la vida humana, su dignidad, que también pasa por el respeto de la libertad del otro, de las circunstancias personales, etc.”), Take Gandhi or the confusion between natural law and biological instinct as an example of good people.
My conclusion is that the course combines very good things with major defects. In this respect, it depends to a great extent on educators or missionaries. If the course does not cover an important topic, you can always add a discussion on that topic. If certain materials or exercises are not suitable, they can be omitted. However, since we have a lot of stakes in this field, it is highly desirable that the curriculum developed by the Vatican does not have to be corrected by those who use it.
In my opinion, the whole course is not desirable. I don't want my children to accept it in their teens. It is hoped that the error can be corrected so that the author's efforts can bear eternal fruit on this very important issue.
