I want to share with you a letter I wrote recently to our Diocesan newspaper in response to the articles in the links below:
Below is my response which discusses the real solutions to the problems mentioned in these articles:
As I was reading the Commentary section of the November 10 edition of the Rhode Island Catholic, two articles really stood out to me because of how the issues they address are related. I am referring to the editorial "Failed policies and misguided morality do not help our youth" and the letter by Patricia Fontes of Hopkinton, "Deal with issues, not personal attacks".
The editorial is rightly critical of First Lady Stephanie Chafee's severely misguided views on distributing condoms to children. She has actually stated that rather than prevent our children from engaging in sexual practices, we should instead teach them about "safe sex". However, all she will accomplish with this is encouraging irresponsible and reckless behavior by our youth. I agree with the editor that our children deserve better than this. Contrary to what this culture of death telling them, our youth don't need "safe sex", rather they need to learn about the beauty and sacredness of the gift of human sexuality and human life. But most of all, we as parents need to take a stand to ensure that the guidance and values we give our children are not deliberately undermined by political leaders, Planned Parenthood, or teachers with messages of promiscuity and irresponsibility.
In the letter by Patricia Fontes, the writer criticizes the Rhode Island Catholic and the Catholic Church for apparently focusing on issues involving sexuality and not doing enough for the poor. Her accusations, such as this paper being "neo-conservative", a lobbyist for the Republican Party, and the Church silenced by the "1%", just serve to underscore her misguided support for the "Occupy Wall Street" movement. Unfortunately, her political leanings prevent her from seeing that some of the demands of the occupiers and the actions of the Obama administration are directly contrary to Catholic doctrine and deserve the condemnation they have received by the RI Catholic and the Church.
But how is this related to Stephanie Chafee's desire to distribute condoms? Whether the issue is teenage promiscuity and contraception, or a faltering economy and income inequality, the solutions all start in the same place. If we want to rebuild this country and save our youth, the first place we need to start is to strengthen and support the family in our culture. The seeds of the the ills our nation faces today were planted years ago when family came under attack and Christian family values were replaced with materialism, greed, and sexual license. Contraception and socialism are not the answer, as history has shown. Restoring the family and reopening hearts to the grace of God are where the real answers are found.
