The Government is kowtowing to the Churches over Section 28 when they have clearly demonstrated their strong opposition to the repeal of this legislation and issued deeply flawed guidelines on sex education, says the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association (GALHA).
On Monday 21 February, Education Secretary David Blunkett will receive a delegation from the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church that will try to persuade him to introduce legal “safeguards” relating to sex education. These guidelines were published by the joint Churches last week and include the phrases “Traditional (Christian) marriage should be promoted as the fundamental building block of society and of family life and as a proper context for the nurture of children” and “Lifelong celibacy can be fulfilling. In this way of life an individual’s sexual instincts may be channelled into generous love and service of others.”
Alan Chesters, Bishop of Blackburn, who will be among the delegation meeting the Education Secretary, has already told the Church of England Newspaper that he wants to see these guidelines “enshrined as primary legislation”.
GALHA Secretary George Broadhead said “The Churches are trying to bully and manipulate the Government into introducing legislation that would, in effect, be Section 28 for the whole of society, believers or not. The guidelines only endorse marriage and celibacy. They advocate respecting differences, yet inconsistently stigmatise the large proportion of people who sustain loving relationships – whether heterosexual or homosexual – outside marriage. This is unhelpful to pupils and will undermine the self-esteem of those whose parents’ relationships are being undervalued. The idea that celibacy is a realistic option for a large proportion of the population who are not married is ridiculous and damaging. Celibacy doesn’t even work for all Catholic priests – a recent survey in the USA showed that the incidence of AIDS among Catholic priests was four times that of the general population.
“In its commendable endeavour to scrap Section 28, the Government must not fall into the trap of introducing something even more draconian. The framing of educational material should be left to sensible and responsible professional educationalists. They should not be handed over to vicars and priests whose vision of society is pinched, narrow and exclusive.”