I've got some bad news and some worse news about sex education in schools. The bad news is that sex-ed is one of the most effective ways to destroy natural modesty in children, awaken their passions, encourage sexual activity, and introduce sexual perversions. The worse news is that Catholic sex-ed programs are just as dangerous to your child's moral health as secular ones.

Your child may be exposed to one of these Catholic sex-ed programs:

The New Creation Series
Sex Respect
Let's Talk to Teens About Chastity
In God's Image: Male and Female
Family Life
Teen STAR
AIDS: A Catholic Education Approach

Each of these programs has its supporters. However, all of them are unacceptable because they are all basically "baptized" versions of secular sex-ed programs: a combination of humanistic, anti-life methods with a sugar-coating of Catholicism. Most of these programs give premature and explicit sexual information in a classroom setting. Some explore every graphic detail about sex, including all the possible sexual perversions, with little or no moral guidance. They all give too much, too soon, too publicly.

Some think that the answer is a "thoroughly Catholic" program of chastity education. But the fundamental flaw of any Catholic sex-ed program is that it contradicts the traditional wisdom of the Church to reserve education in sexual matters to parents. Sex-ed belongs in the family room, not the classroom. The Church has always held that the sacred mystery of human sexuality should be prudently and delicately revealed by parents in the intimacy of the home. To drag this sacred mystery out in public, to linger over every titillating detail cheapens the gift of sexuality and invites immorality.

This timeless wisdom has been repeated in our day by the Pontifical Council for the Family in their document, The Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality: Guidelines for Education within the Family. The document's central thesis is that "the family is, in fact, the best environment to accomplish the obligation of securing a gradual education in sexual life" (section 64). Catholic schools and religion classes can certainly teach about morality and chastity, but this "must not include the more intimate aspects of sexual information, whether biological or affective, which belong to individual formation within the family" (section 133).

This beautiful document is a Magna Carta for parental rights in sex education. In at least ten different sections, the Vatican document upholds the permanent right and ability of parents to educate their own children (see sections 23, 40, 41, 42, 43, 94, 113, 145, 148, 150). Consider section 41: "The right and duty of parents to give education is essential since it is connected with the transmission of human life; it is original and primary with regard to the educational role of others, on account of the uniqueness of the loving relationship between parents and children; and it is irreplaceable and inalienable, and therefore incapable of being entirely delegated to others or usurped by others ...."

This irreplaceable educational right implies a corresponding duty: "If in fact parents do not give adequate formation in chastity, they are failing in their precise duty. Likewise, they would also be guilty were they to tolerate immoral or inadequate formation being given to children outside the home" (section 44).

No longer should parents defer to the "sexperts" or feel powerless to oppose their diocesan sex-ed programs. The Pontifical Council declares that "explicit and premature sex education can never be justified" (section 143) and encourages parents "to fight against damaging forms of sex education and to ensure that their children will be educated according to Christian principles and in a way that is consonant with their personal development" (section 114).

The Pontifical Council recommends "that parents attentively follow every form of sex education that is given to their children outside the home, removing their children whenever this education does not correspond to their own principles" (section 117). Nor should parents fear any reprisals for rejecting unacceptable forms of sex-ed: "Neither the children nor other members of the family should ever be penalized or discriminated against for this decision" (section 120).

In other words, the Pontifical Council has done more than pull the plug on any kind of classroom sex education that is premature, explicit, detailed, graphic, erotic, immodest, trivial, secular, anti-life, or amoral. It has insisted, in harmony with the wisdom of the ages, that sex education be restored to its rightful place in the family. Sex-ed belongs under the watchful care of parents, and no teacher, nun, priest, or church official has the right to violate a child's innocence or usurp a parent's God-given duty.

I know there are some parents who don't feel qualified to teach their children about sex. This is an understandable concern. The Pontifical Council produced this document expressly to give parents confidence: "Therefore, through this document, the Church holds that it is her duty to give parents back confidence in their own capabilities and help them to carry out their task" (section 47). This is why every Catholic parent needs to have and study this Vatican document. One of the greatest gifts you can give other parents is the confidence to protect their children's innocence against the molestation of sex-ed programs.

"Parents must never feel alone in this task. The Church supports and encourages them, confident that they can carry out this function better than anyone else" (section 40). It's not that hard. The Pontifical Council suggests many concrete ways for parents to teach their children about sex. But the "first example and the greatest help that parents can give their children is their generosity in accepting life" (section 61). In other words, the world's best sex education is a husband and wife who are open to life. By gratefully accepting and raising children, parents teach their other children the ultimate purpose of sex: the procreation and education of children in the framework of marriage. That is the most important lesson they will ever learn about sex.

As for the rest, the Pontifical Council suggests keeping it simple: "giving too many details to children is counterproductive" (section 75). Generally speaking, parents should train their children in holiness and offer sound moral instruction in all the virtues, not just chastity. They should clearly explain the Church's teaching on sexual matters as they arise, without suggesting all the possible perversions. Common sense and prudence will dictate the appropriate time for more detailed explanations. However, the sacredness of married love should always be respected and placed in its Christian context.

The one thing we cannot forget is that we are educators because we are parents. It is a duty we cannot duck or delegate. May God give us the courage to protect our children's innocence and the diligence to develop their innocence into purity. "Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God."

For a critical review of each of the seven Catholic sex-ed programs listed above, see the booklets found on page 10. Please be aware: the material quoted in these booklets will probably shock you. What is even more shocking is that some church officials and priests have decided this material is suitable for your children.