http://blog.catholicsphere.com/2006/06/21/protecting-offenders-at-school.html Wed, 03 Dec 2008 06:10:53 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 http://blog.catholicsphere.com/2006/06/21/protecting-offenders-at-school.html#comment-242 CatholicSphere » Better ways to protect our kids Mon, 10 Jul 2006 19:10:32 +0000 http://blog.catholicsphere.com/2006/06/21/protecting-offenders-at-school.html#comment-242 [...] A weekend article appearing on Catholic Exchange, Protecting Catholic Kids from Unsafe “Safety”, makes known the recent document from the US Bishops which gives parent the power to remove their kids from the mandated “Safe Environments” programs in their dioceses. Some of these programs have been widely criticized for the mature subject matter it sets before very young children, and parents have been vocal about not wanting their children to be forced to participate. It is sad that it has come to this … and it is not simply because of the actions of some priests against children, but has become necessary because of an increase in the “sexuality” of our culture, and the decline in the valuation of the human person. As I said in another post from a few weeks ago, children are more at risk in the public school system by far, than they are at risk anywhere else. But, the only answer should not be to protect our kids from their environment. As a society, we need to work to change the environment. Why shouldn’t our children be able to be children? Why should we need to force them to deal with adult issues at such a young age? Some may call me naive, but I can recall back to the “innocence” of my youth (yes, the memory still serves ) and I know I’m not alone when I say that I yearn for that for my children. I want them to enjoy their childhood as children. I don’t want them to have to worry about situations where they should be able to trust. But, the cold, hard reality is that I have to watch my children closely. I have to be careful if I’m out with my 5-year old daughter and she has to use the bathroom. I cannot take her into the men’s room, and I cannot go with her into the women’s room … so I have to cautiously send her into the restroom alone, while I worry outside the door, making sure that no one is lying-in-wait in a stall. Shopping can even be a challenge, as it is possible for someone to snatch or grope one of my children from between the clothes’ racks at the local JcPenney if they lag just a few steps too far behind me, and I take my eyes off them. This is not the world that any of us—not our children, not I, and not you—should have to live in. And, we sit and talk about the high price of gas, or the war, or the economy or our portfolios. However, when it comes to other moral issues, that affect the environment in our society, we will say “it’s a women’s choice”, ignoring the discussion of what the woman is being allowed to choose; or “let them be with whomever they love”, without concern for the unintended implications of such an ideology, or “kid will have sex, no matter what, so you better teach them to protect themselves by giving them easy access to condoms and teaching them to use them”. Let’s get concerned over the changing the environment that we have to live in, instead of just figuring out ways to protect ourselves from the dangers of that environment. Let’s stop eschewing the notion that there should be no standard of conduct in our communities, because when we look closely at it, we find that the standards have much more agreement upon people than many are willing to admit. Technorati Tags: catholic, bishops, safe environment, protect, children, parenting, school, catholic exchange, society, change [...] [...] A weekend article appearing on Catholic Exchange, Protecting Catholic Kids from Unsafe “Safety”, makes known the recent document from the US Bishops which gives parent the power to remove their kids from the mandated “Safe Environments” programs in their dioceses. Some of these programs have been widely criticized for the mature subject matter it sets before very young children, and parents have been vocal about not wanting their children to be forced to participate. It is sad that it has come to this … and it is not simply because of the actions of some priests against children, but has become necessary because of an increase in the “sexuality” of our culture, and the decline in the valuation of the human person. As I said in another post from a few weeks ago, children are more at risk in the public school system by far, than they are at risk anywhere else. But, the only answer should not be to protect our kids from their environment. As a society, we need to work to change the environment. Why shouldn’t our children be able to be children? Why should we need to force them to deal with adult issues at such a young age? Some may call me naive, but I can recall back to the “innocence” of my youth (yes, the memory still serves ) and I know I’m not alone when I say that I yearn for that for my children. I want them to enjoy their childhood as children. I don’t want them to have to worry about situations where they should be able to trust. But, the cold, hard reality is that I have to watch my children closely. I have to be careful if I’m out with my 5-year old daughter and she has to use the bathroom. I cannot take her into the men’s room, and I cannot go with her into the women’s room … so I have to cautiously send her into the restroom alone, while I worry outside the door, making sure that no one is lying-in-wait in a stall. Shopping can even be a challenge, as it is possible for someone to snatch or grope one of my children from between the clothes’ racks at the local JcPenney if they lag just a few steps too far behind me, and I take my eyes off them. This is not the world that any of us—not our children, not I, and not you—should have to live in. And, we sit and talk about the high price of gas, or the war, or the economy or our portfolios. However, when it comes to other moral issues, that affect the environment in our society, we will say “it’s a women’s choice”, ignoring the discussion of what the woman is being allowed to choose; or “let them be with whomever they love”, without concern for the unintended implications of such an ideology, or “kid will have sex, no matter what, so you better teach them to protect themselves by giving them easy access to condoms and teaching them to use them”. Let’s get concerned over the changing the environment that we have to live in, instead of just figuring out ways to protect ourselves from the dangers of that environment. Let’s stop eschewing the notion that there should be no standard of conduct in our communities, because when we look closely at it, we find that the standards have much more agreement upon people than many are willing to admit. Technorati Tags: catholic, bishops, safe environment, protect, children, parenting, school, catholic exchange, society, change [...]

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