“It’s because we are challenging some of the political correctness of our day in which people seem to think that if you come up with a vaccine, that’s going to solve all the problems,” Bishop Henry replied.
“No matter its effectiveness, the vaccine is not a substitute for chastity.”
To the health minister’s contention that the non-vaccination policy was not formed in consultation with the medical community, Bishop Henry explained that “for months we’ve been reading everything” from Health Canada, cancer societies, individual doctors, web sites, and other sources.
“We’ve probably read much more than Mr. Liepert has,” he suggested.
According to Bishop Henry, their studies had suggested the HPV vaccine was “not adequately tested” and could have “problematic dimensions” and “disastrous side-effects.” Adverse reactions, including some deaths, have been reportedly linked to the HPV vaccine.
In Bishop Henry’s view, there is a danger of the vaccination program “using young girls as guinea pigs.”
“Does this profit anybody other than the drug company?” he wondered.
Because of these concerns, Bishop Henry explained, there was “sufficient ambiguity” for the school district to refuse to participate in the voluntary vaccination.
Another concern rests in the Catholic teaching that the gift of sexual intercourse belongs to the “covenant of marriage.” Bishop Henry explained that “recreational sex” carries “profound risks” both spiritual and physical.
“The vaccine only applies to physical health,” the bishop said. Acknowledging the importance of educating children about sex and sexually-transmitted diseases, he said, the Catholic schools’ health curriculum “does exactly that.”
In addition to physical health, Bishop Henry told CNA, sex education ought to discuss the nature of sexuality and how it is to be used.
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“We’re saying that chastity ought to be taught and emphasized,” he said, saying education should encourage delayed sexual activity.
While children are being “bombarded with all sorts of images about sexuality,” Bishop Henry continued, society has not “taken time to teach them right from wrong, and that’s what our curriculum is all about.”
“We don’t want to put ourselves in a kind of ‘compromising spirit’ by not trusting children to be chaste,” he said, adding that sex education should convey the message to students that “we don’t believe you young people are that stupid.”
The vaccination program, he remarked, “puts us in a potentially morally compromising position and we’re not going to accept it.”
A Catholic institution must “live faithfully according to its mission and its teaching.” Such vaccinations “should take place in health centers, but not in Catholic schools.”
Turning to Health Minister Liepert’s criticisms, the bishop said that after Liepert took his “first slam” at the bishop’s statements, “he might have phoned us and inquired.”