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Bishops to formulate 'alternative' sex education for students


After urging President Benigno Aquino III to shun the "contraceptive mentality" in the government's sex education program, Catholic bishops are considering "alternative" sex education modules for pupils in public schools. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines said it is studying the Department of Education's sex-ed modules and come out with its own version. “We are seriously reviewing them and we will consult our consultants so that we can also present our own alternative modules," Archbishop Paciano Aniceto, head of the CBCP’s Commission on Family and Life, said in an article posted Tuesday on the CBCP news site. Last Sunday, some 90 prelates met with Education Secretary Armin Luistro to tackle the sex education program in public elementary and high schools. While the bishops clarified they are not against sex education itself, they said it should be given by the right person and does not promote birth control or contraceptives. “It’s not against sex education as long as it is given by the right person in the right way, the right objective and methodology," said Aniceto. “That’s why it’s not true that we are against sex education. It’s just that the Church has its own principles on how to properly form the mentality of the youth," he added. Earlier, the CBCP called on President Aquino to reject what it considered as a "contraceptive mentality," saying sex education must deal not merely with knowledge and skills but also promote proper values. The CBCP said there is no change in the Catholic Church's stand on sex education and reproductive health bills. It maintained human life starts at conception, and conception takes place at the fertilization of the egg by the sperm. "Human life is a gift of God and has to be respected and protected from conception till natural death. The Church is always concerned with the poor, and the many church institutions and groups that help the poor bear this out," it said. "Poverty cannot be solved by promoting contraceptive education and programs. Education does not merely deal with knowledge and skills; rather it must promote values that are inherent to us as Filipinos. Parents have the primary right to educate their children and sex education is properly to be done in the family," it added. The bishops also reminded Aquino of his inaugural speech where he declared that he will listen more to the people because “kayo ang boss ko (you are my boss)." - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV

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