Argentinean priest says sexual education shouldn't be “genital education”

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jan 16, 2005 / 22:00 pm

As the country of Argentina is currently preparing a sexual education plan together with the Society for Gay and Lesbian Integration of Argentina, the Director of the Press Office for the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires, Father Guillermo Marcó, recalled that the sexual education should never become genital education, and its content should not be in conflict with what the family believes.

In an article entitled, “God Made Them Male and Female,” Father Marcó maintains, “The Church, from the beginning, has taught sexual education,” with the understanding that, as the Catechism points out, “sexuality encompasses all aspects of the human person, in both body and soul.”

Father Marcó explained that young people should be given sexual education both at home and at school.  However, he clarified that, “It should not be turned into genital education, whose contents ignore what parents think about the matter.”

“Education in chastity helps one to control the passions, thus saving energy and teaching one to responsibly use it in marriage.”

Citing the teachings of the Catechism, the article indicates that young people should be educated “in acknowledgement of their own masculine and feminine sexuality,” thus living the complementarity of the sexes, “in order to form a family and educate their children.”  Lastly, Father Marcó exhorted parents not to leave the education of their children in the hands of those who think differently from them.