BOOK REVIEWS

Forming Children for Love and for Life


by Vivian W. Dudro

The Joyful Mysteries of Life
by Catherine and Bernard Scherrer
Family Publications,
Ignatius Press
75 pp.
1-800-651-1531

    About ten years ago, when the public school board of Tempe, Arizona was considering a K-12 sex education curriculum, the local pro-life network urged concerned parents and other residents to review the materials.
    The content of the program was shocking. A film for kindergartners showed a boy and a girl in a bathtub together pointing out and labeling each other’s private parts. In a clinical tone, masturbation was defined by the junior high text as a normal, and even necessary, component of sexual health. The manuals for grades 7 through 12 defined various methods of birth control, including abortion and abstinence, but excluded natural family planning. Aberrant behaviors, such as anal intercourse, were described as matter of factly as a weather report on a sunny day, along with the suggestion that the young person might be a homosexual.
    In no grade was there a serious discussion of marriage, or even love, the assumption being that sexual desires are merely itches that need to be scratched. Needless to say, the virtue of self-control and its necessity for human maturity was never mentioned.
    As word spread around town, many people stopped in at the school administration office to look at these materials, and the public meeting called by the school board to debate the curriculum was attended by a standing room only crowd. Nine out of ten of those who took the floor expressed their disapproval of the program. Nevertheless, the school board adopted it, and the curriculum was implemented the very next academic year. The only consolation given to those who objected was that parents would be “permitted” to request the removal of their children from the classroom whenever the subject matter was sex.
    Tempe, Arizona is not an isolated case. Similar sex education curricula spread throughout the country during the last decade, supposedly to save our children from AIDS and teen pregnancy. Many Catholic schools, too, got on the bandwagon and introduced K-12 sex education. While the Catholic programs are not identical to those in the public schools, they have been modeled after them. Consequently, many contain serious flaws.
    In response to this situation, which exists not only in the United States, but also in many other countries, the Pontifical Council for the Family last year issued the booklet, “The Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality: Guidelines for Education within the Family.” Every Catholic parent and educator ought to read this important document.
    First of all, it clearly and concisely summarizes Catholic teaching about sexuality. And it does so with the theological constructs of Pope John Paul II, who deeply understands modern man’s search for meaning and love. But even more important, “The Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality” empowers parents to reassume their responsibility for their children’s moral and spiritual development and, if necessary, confront any educators who would oppose them.
    “In some societies today, there are planned and determined attempts to impose premature sex information on children,” the document states. “But at this stage of development, children are still not capable of fully understanding the value of the affective dimension of sexuality. They cannot understand and control sexual imagery within the proper context of moral principles and, for this reason, they cannot integrate premature sexual information with moral responsibility. Such information tends to shatter their emotional and educational development and to disturb the natural serenity of this period of life. Parents should politely but firmly exclude any attempts to violate children’s innocence, because such attempts compromise the spiritual, moral and emotional development of growing persons who have a right to their innocence.”
    Unfortunately, for Catholic parents desiring a more proactive role in their children’s formation, there is a dearth of good materials available, especially for younger children. Often the failings of Catholic texts are not obvious at first glance, because they consist not so much in flagrant errors but in equally harmful omissions. Chastity, purity, modesty, decency, virginity — these important words are all too often found wanting.
    One recently published book, however, stands out from the rest. The Joyful Mysteries of Life coincidentally published in English the same year as “The Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality,” is a beautifully written book designed to assist parents in their sensitive task of formation.
    Originally written in French by Catholic parents in order to teach their own pre-teen children, The Joyful Mysteries of Life perfectly adheres to the guidelines offered by the Vatican for “educating children for chastity.” Namely, it places the wonders of human sexuality in a spiritual and moral framework, thereby orienting the child toward love of God and neighbor.
    In simple and delicate language, authors Catherine and Bernard Scherrer link the biological “facts of life” with the joyful mysteries of the Rosary, fostering a reverence for the gifts of God, in particular the gifts of marriage and children. The book also lovingly presents the priesthood and religious life, helping children to understand and discover their own vocation.
    Chastity is described as a virtue every Christian can and must practice according to his state in life in order to be truly free and happy. In two different chapters, one written especially for girls and one for boys, the requirements of chastity, e.g. rejecting certain thoughts, words and actions and conducting oneself modestly and respectfully of others, are outlined. In the back of the book, there is a pledge, which the child can sign, to live a life of purity through prayer and frequent reception of the sacraments.
    “It is important for you to know that on your own, with your own strength, you will not be able to resist temptation,” the Scherrers point out, urging the child to turn to Jesus, Mary, his guardian angel, and patron saints for help. How different this statement is from that commonly heard from the sex education advocates: “Teaching abstinence is not enough, because young people are going to ‘do it’ anyway.”
    They are half right; teaching abstinence is not enough. What young people need is the kind of spiritual and moral guidance found in The Joyful Mysteries of Life. And the best place for such guidance to be given is in a loving family.

Vivian Dudro is a home schooling mother of four children, and a freelance writer. Her articles have appeared in publications such as Catholic World Report, Catholic Dossier and the National Catholic Register.

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(© Copyright 1998, As translated into HTML for Catholic Information Center on Internet by Jill Gooler 9/19/98)