From Mr John de Waal SIR – I don’t doubt that Oona Stannard, director of the Catholic Education Service, believes the Government is sincere when she says she is confident that the new Education Bill going through Parliament will safeguard the right of Catholic schools to teach sex education in accordance with Catholic moral teaching (Letters, February 5). I suspect, however, that she is being rather naive.
For a start, if we look at the track record of this Government in relation to Catholic institutions we should be very cautious. This is the same Government which has forced the closure of our adoption societies. The Secretary of State, Ed Balls, is the one who has said that all schools must teach that civil partnerships and “other strong, stable relationships” are on an equal footing with marriage.
Likewise, the Bill proposes the removal from current legislation any reference to protecting children from “teaching and materials which are inappropriate, having regard to the age and the religious and cultural background of the pupils concerned”.
Who is most pleased with this Bill? It is, of course, the Family Planning Association and Brook. They have campaigned for many years for compulsory sex education as a means of promoting their agenda to break down traditional moral standards, redefine the family, promote relativism, celebrate homosexuality and encourage sexual experimentation. They are no friends of Catholic education – quite the opposite. The Bill gives them everything they have ever wanted.
A final thought: Oona Stannard, understandably perhaps, speaks about Catholic schools, but shouldn’t we also have in mind “the common good” – in other words, what is best for the moral health of our country as a whole? This Government and its pernicious social engineering through education is wrecking society, destroying parental rights and the right of children to innocence and decent moral training.
The Church needs to think again about its support for this Bill.
Yours faithfully, JOHN DE WAAL Eastbourne, East Sussex