Randy Engel - Sex Education: The Final Plague

SEX EDUCATION

THE FINAL PLAGUE

By

Randy Engel

Copyright 1989, 1993 by Randy Engel.

First published in 1989 by Human Life International, Gaithersburg, Maryland. Reprinted by HLI in 1992. Retypeset and republished with corrections in 1993 by TAN Books and Publishers, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publisher. Brief excerpts may be quoted without permission.

Quotes from the Commentary on the Declaration on Christian Education of Vatican Council II, by Rt. Reverend Mark J. Hurley, 1966, by permission of the Paulist Press, 997 MacArthur Boulevard, Mahwah, New Jersey 07430. Quotes from "Education in Sex," by Robert A. Harper, Ph.D. and Frances R. Harper, Ed.D., The Encyclopedia of Sexual Behavior, edited by Albert Ellis and Albert Abarbanel, Hawthorn Books, Inc., New York, 1961, by permission of the Institute for Rational-Emotive Therapy, 45 East 65th Street, New York, New York 10021.

ISBN: 0-89555-471-2

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 92-60958

TAN Books

Charlotte, North Carolina

www.TANBooks.com

1993

To Our Lady of Fatima.

"But he that shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea."

Words of Our Lord (Matthew 18:6)

"Far too common is the error of those who, with dangerous assurance and under an ugly term, propagate a so-called 'sex education,' falsely imagining they can forearm youth against the dangers of sensuality by means purely natural, such as a foolhardy initiation and precautionary instruction for all indiscriminately, even in public; and, worse still, by exposing them at an early age to the occasions [of sin], in order to accustom them, so it is argued, and as it were to harden them against such , dangers..."

Pope Pius XI

Encyclical Divini Illius Magistri

"On Christian Education of Youth"

December 31, 1929

(See page 50 herein.)

Sex Education is "the teaching of explicit sexual matters as a formal matter of classroom instruction, either as a separate curriculum or as an integrated part of legitimate courses of study at the elementary or secondary grade level."

See page 206.

"We protest in the strongest possible terms against the introduction of sex instruction into the schools!"

Catholic Bishops of the United States

November 17, 1950

(See page 51 herein.)

"It bears repeating, over and over, that Pope Pius XII's prescription of PROPER TIME, PROPER MEASURE, and PROPER PRECAUTIONS can never be carried out in any classroom setting or with any group program..."

See page 134.

Instruction with regard to the Sixth Commandment (sexual morality) requires "great caution and prudence" and should be carried out in a manner which stresses "brevity rather than copiousness of exposition," lest, even unintentionally, such instruction may treat of "subjects which, instead of extinguishing, usually serve rather to inflame corrupt passion."

Material quoted from

The Catechism of the Council of Trent (See page 133 herein.)

Acknowledgments

With profound humility and gratitude, I wish to acknowledge the special contributions of the following men and women whose good counsel and advice, technical support and encouragement helped make this book a reality:

To my dear friend and colleague, Dick Lloyd, Vice President of the National Coalition of Clergy and Laity, whose suggestion that I write a "one-page critique" of the Mast Love and Life program led to this two-year project, covering the entire scope of sex education. Thanks, Dick!

To my three fellow musketeers: Marie Zaccaria of Parents Roundtable, Marjorie Garvey of Our Lady and St. Joseph in Search of the Lost Child (an Ad Hoc Alliance in Defense of the Fourth Commandment) and Suzanne Rini, author and translator extraordinaire. D'Artagnan could not have found better companions anywhere!

To Monsignor Charles Moss and Father Clifton Hill for their spiritual counsel and example of faithfulness to Holy Mother Church.

To Herbert Ratner, M.D., Melvin Anchell, M.D. and Father William Smith for their special insights into family life, latency and Catholic moral theology respectively.

To The Wanderer and Keep the Faith for running this book in serial and audio format, and to Father Paul Marx of Human Life International for his continuous encouragement in my writings.

To Frank Spahitz, Josepha M. Vollmer and Diane C. Illis for their technical comments and corrections, and especially Donna B. Marks of Tri-Mark Communications, who was responsible for the typing of the many drafts of this manuscript.

To my parents, Sebastian and Mary Vignone, for passing on to me the Catholic Faith and a love for truth and charity.

To my children, Dawn, Terry, David, Regina and Tricia and their spouses and our grandchildrenKristina, Katlin, Tony and Jessicawho ever serve to remind me that nothing is more important in the world than God's gift of children and family.

And last, to my dear husband, Tom, who will be happy to know his temporary widowhood, caused by having a writer for a wife, is overtemporarily!

Table of Contents

Publisher's Preface

In writing Sex EducationThe Final Plague, author Randy Engel has made a tremendous contribution both to the Catholic world and to society at large. For she has rightly called modern classroom Sex Education "The Final Plague." It is the final plague because ultimately it spells the end of our societyif not totally (which is conceivable), then at least of our society as we have known itas one with traditional Christian moral customs.

Although in writing this book the author has not specifically stated her Catholic presuppositions regarding illicit sexual activity, they are present nonetheless as unstated theses underlying her entire theme, and therefore, I believe it is essential to state them openly, especially for those non-Catholic readers who may not be entirely familiar with the Catholic moral teaching on sex.

Fundamental to the traditional Catholic view on sex are some nine basic points: 1) Morally considered, sexual activity is allowed only within marriage and only between a validly married husband and wife, and then only in the natural manner that is left open to the procreation of children. All other sexual activitywhether alone or with othersis forbidden both by the Natural Law and by divine positive law (Revelation). 2) All purposely willed sexual sins are mortal sins, i.e., sins which, should a person die with one unrepented on his or her soul, will send that person to Hell. 3) A habit of sexual sin is very easy to contract (because of man's natural curiosity about himself, because sexuality is built into human nature by our Creator (carrying a pleasurable experience) and because manthough fundamentally goodis nonetheless inclined to evil, due to the Fall of Adam and Eve. Sexual sins soon become habitual and are thereafter very difficult to discontinue. 4) Sexual sins blind a person to the seriousness of these sins, probably quicker and more profoundly than any other type of sin, thereby prolonging a person's indulgence in them beyond what he might otherwise tolerate with other types of sin. 5) People are naturally ashamed of their sexual sins and therefore generally remain secretive about them, though continuing in them, often thinking that they cannot control themselves because they are just weaknot realizing that