In the comments box below, I listed some ways to legitimately dissent from a policy that a diocese has adopted. It should go without saying — though it might not — that I am not talking about immutable dogmas of the Church, lest you think if you write enough letters, we’ll have women priests. There is no legitimate dissent from Catholic teaching.
That being said, if your diocese does something you don’t like, you can
• Call or write the chancery and express your misgivings.
• Talk to your parish’s pastor about the problem. He presumably has some way to communicate with the bishop.
• Find other people who agree with you, and prayerfully and charitably speak as one voice.
• Always propose an alternative (as, I believe, some of the Arlington protestors were, to their credit.) Don’t just say “no,” say “here’s a better and more faithful way to accomplish what you’re trying to do.”
• Don’t assume that just because the diocese adopts a policy, it’s forever. Never give up.
It’s your duty to help reform your little part of the Church, and do it in a way that will not embarrass the Church in the outside world.
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Unfortunately, Eric, even if you do all those things, you’ll often end up right where you are now or even worse off. Just ask the parents in Boston who have been repeatedly rebuffed, ignored, and told that they just have to “buy into” the program.
Dom, I can’t stress this enough: Arlington is not Boston, in so many ways.
I would add one very important process to your list of good points, Eric: Before doing any of those things, one ought first to inquire calmly into the matter, seek out balanced and objective sources, see whether one has understood the issue at hand properly, whether one understands the matters involved, and whether what one perceives to be happening is truly consistent with what one knows of the people and offices involved. After all that, if one is still convinced that one’s serious objections are valid, then proceed to the list.
Yes. Thank you, Father. I’d only add that we ought to assume the best motives on the part of everyone involved, unless proven otherwise.
I went to the website of Good Touch, Bad Touch. It says that it is not a sex ed program. It also says that one of its principals is that “my body is my own”. If you believe that first comment, try to explain what it is about to your fifteen year old while your seven year old listens. I guarantee that you’ll decide that you are talking about sex. Do I need to expand on “my body is my own”? The motives of those who are doing this isn’t in question, in my mind. The effect of what they are trying to do, unfortunately, is also not in question to me. And I didn’t go to the meeting and I don’t think people should shout others down. However, even in Arlington, all that letter writing etc. can produce zilch.
I’d second what Fr. Tucker said. “Doing your homework” (and doing it well) in advance of any concrete action is vital.
I agree with Fr. Jim. With regard to the Arlington program, if you go to the diocese’s site about it and look at the PP presentation from Monday night’s meeting, you’ll see that the program explicitly teaches – twice! – that one’s body belongs FIRST to God and only secondarily to oneself (as opposed to other human beings).
On this matter as on many others, the program is being badly misrepresented by critics. See my post tonight on HMS for more.
And the criticisms of (the substance of) TaT strike me as – clearly – similarly overblown (though the Boston archdiocese isn’t handling the matter well).