Politics
Friday April 7, 2006
See today's LifeSiteNews stories
US Bishops Child Protection Programs Supported by Homosexual Activists
by Hilary White
WASHINGTON, April 7, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) enjoys the support of homosexual activist groups for its "Virtus" program intended to protect children from sexual predators. Virtus, the Latin word for virtue, is a set of programs developed by the National Catholic Risk Retention Group, called "Protecting God's Children™" for the USCCB.
The program, used in dioceses throughout the US, proposes "training" for children, parents, clergy, teachers and church staff and volunteers and focuses part of its effort in a sex-education program for children as young as six in Catholic schools. The child sex-ed component, called "Teaching Touching Safety," has been denounced by faithful Catholic parents' groups and priests as an attack on children's innocence and a device for dodging responsibility by bishops.
The weblog of a group of parents and teachers, called the Primary Educators' League, says that among the first organizations to endorse the Virtus program was the Catholic Rainbow Parents, an activist organization of parents of homosexuals that formally rejects Catholic teaching on sexuality. In July 2005, in their inaugural public statement, the Catholic Rainbow Parents proclaimed their support of Virtus.
The Rainbow Parents enjoys a high level of support within the Catholic institution in the archdiocese of St. Paul Minneapolis. A declaration sponsored by the group formally declaring their opposition to Catholic teaching on sexuality was signed by Sisters and Consociates (sic) and the Justice Commission of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet of St. Paul. The declaration denounces the Catholic Church and supports homosexual sex, same-sex "marriage," and declares that it is a "myth" that most clerical abusers of children are homosexuals.
The declaration reads: "We share the perspective of the National Catholic Risk Retention Group's Virtus programs, with which the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis collaborates in response to the mandate of the 'Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People' adopted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in June 2002."
The declaration quotes the Virtus program's report: "It is a myth that most sex abusers are homosexuals. Most sex offenders are not homosexual; they are heterosexual . . . Studies repeatedly show that most male molesters of boys are not homosexual with adults. It is a faulty assumption that an adult male who selects a young boy as a victim is gay."
The Rainbow Parents is part of a larger network that includes the Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities (CPCSM), a lay group that lobbies and agitates for the Catholic Church to abandon its teaching on the sacredness of human sexuality and adopt modern sexual mores.
The CPCSM has remained unchecked by the Archdiocese of St. Paul Minneapolis where it is based, since its inception and acts as the quasi-official advocates of homosexuality in the archdiocese.
On the board of CPCSM until recently was former Benedictine monk, Bill Kummer, who taught in elementary and high schools and was the force behind a Minnesota law including homosexuals in the hate crimes legislation.
Far from being censured for his support for homosexual activity, Kummer was granted an award by the archdiocese for setting up a "safe schools" program in the Catholic high schools. Prior to his passing in January he was a long time campaigner for the standard roster of leftist causes including animal rights, homosexuality, environmentalism and 'childhood sexual abuse, safer schools.'
In 1989, Kummer was also awarded the 21st Annual Archbishop Ireland Award by the archdiocese Catholic Commission on Social Justice for his homosexual activism.
Other CPCSM board members include two religious sisters and the widow of a deacon of the Archdiocese who is a member of the Deacons' Council.
Read the websites of:
The Primary Educators League
http://www.primaryeducators.org/who.php
The Rainbow Catholic Parents
http://www.mtn.org/cpcsm/catholicrainbowparents.htm
Contact the USCCB Office of Child & Youth Protection
3211 4th Street, N.E.,
Washington DC
20017-1194
(202) 541-3000
ocyp@usccb.org
Back to TopSHARE THIS STORY: E-mail Print Newsvine Digg Reddit Del.icio.us Facebook
Latest Headlines
- Phill Kline Fights Critical Primary Campaign to Keep Planned Parenthood Case Alive - Asks Pro-Life Movement for Help
- Catholic University of San Diego Changes Mind - Rejects Radical Non-Christian Feminist For Theology Chair
- Traditional Anglican Bishops of Canada Protest Giving Order of Canada to Abortionist Morgentaler
- McCain Takes Obama to Task on Abortion, Still Defends Embryo Destroying Research
- Is the Pro-life Movement Too Christian? - Letters to the Editor for Friday, July 18, 2008
- London Times Runs Article Promoting Incest
- San Jose Professor Fired for Answering Question about Genetics and Homosexuality
- Dutch Replace Maiden Name with "Birth Name" to Accommodate Homosexual "Marriage"
- Spanish Euthanasia Advocates Launch Legalization Campaign
- NJ Assemblyman Proposes Legislation that Could Fund Embryonic Research through Back Door
- Same-sex "Marriage" Will Not be Counted in 2010 U.S. Census
- Canadian Politicians Take Part in Toronto's Raunchy Gay Pride Parade
- Homosexual High School Clubs Increase Risk of Suicide says Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays
- LifeSiteNews.com NewsBytes for July 18, 2008
Most Read this Week
- Death Wish: The Impending Suicide of a Once Great Nation
- Virgin Mobile Solicits Youth to Strip for Charity, Posts Videos on Website
- US Pediatric Nursing Journal Toys with Infanticide
- Priest Expert Says Infanticide is 50 Years Away from Being Normalized
- Knights of Columbus Calls on All 230,000 Members to Demand Morgentaler Award be Revoked
- "Premature Sexualisation" Pushing Young Girls into Depression and Self-Harm: New Study
- Norway Trial Court Finds Missionaries Guilty for Spreading Gospel
- Success: After Public Exposure, Psychiatrist Quits Signing Off on Late Term Abortion
- San Jose Professor Fired for Answering Question about Genetics and Homosexuality
- Why Is the Pro-Life Movement So Christian, and Should it be?
MORE NEWS: 
LifeSiteNews.com Home Page Last 10 Days Archives Special Reports
Copyright © LifeSiteNews.com. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License. You may republish this article without request provided the content is not altered and it is clearly attributed to "LifeSiteNews.com". Any Internet re-publishing of original LifeSiteNews articles MUST additionally include a live link to www.LifeSiteNews.com. Republishing of articles on LifeSiteNews that have come from other news sources as noted is subject to the conditions of those sources.