Rob Colquhoun

It is a tremendous shame that a wonderful international gathering of thousands of young people could be misrepresented so badly. Abbot Christopher Jamieson and Father Tim Finigan have reported on how the BBC and the Australian press have overemphasises paedophile scandals rather than the joy of pilgrims in Sydney. Truth, honesty and impartiality should be the integral components of quality journalism. Yet the BBC’s Australian correspondent Nick Bryant has attempted to show that the event is more a convention on abuse rather than a wonderful gathering of young people. Perhaps it would be good if such biased journalists could listen and report on the wonderful, deep and theological homilies of Benedict XVI and the fantastic job the WYD organisers have done. What is most sad is that the cynicism, scepticism and negativity of our national broadcaster saturates the national psyche and helps to devolve trust from the most important institutions in society. The separation of fact from opinion in some reports would help to recover the lost impartiality that some parts of the media need to recover.

Links:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/nickbryant/
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/article4359844.ece
http://the-hermeneutic-of-continuity.blogspot.com/2008/07/bbc-bias-on-world-youth-day.html

Information regarding sexually transmitted diseases: The Human Papillomavirus

Amongst the proliferation of sexually transmitted diseases since the sexual revolution, Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common. There are more than one hundred different types of HPV, of which between thirty and forty types cause genital infections. Most people who contract the virus do not suffer any consequences or symptoms. It is both incurable but not permanent. However, it does cause 99.7% of cervical cancer.[1] Cervical cancers kill approximately 288,000 women annually. According to the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 46 percent of teenage girls acquire HPV from their first sexual relationship.[2] The majority of sexually active women have been infected with one or more types of HPV.

It is clear that the safe sex message promoted by both the NHS and the government is ineffective in its attempt to prevent such a virus. Even virgins can get STDs, including oral cancer from HPV. Many people will contract this virus because they have wrongly been informed that they were engaging in ‘safe’ sex. The virus is spread from skin to skin contact throughout the entire genital area, including one’s thighs and lower abdomen.[3] The National Cancer institute in America reported to congress that condoms are ineffective against HPV. Other reports have shown that condoms have little or no protection against HPV.[4] HPV will normally clear on its own. However, when a husband is infected with it, his wife is five times as likely to get cervical cancer.[5]

A recent advert in the cinema informed British moviegoers that “STDs are spreading fast - use a condom.” As oral sex can transmit virtually every type of STD, many young people today are being told lies about ‘safe’ sex. One can only hope, act and pray that the era of handing out contraceptives like sweets will come to an end. The attempt to protect yourself from someone you should be most intimate with is particularly absurd as it creates a chasm rather than true intimacy. This absurdity leads to the irony today that promiscuity can lead to infertility by catching certain STDs. The American college of obstetricians and gynaecologists have stated that the use of a condom does not provide reliable protection against herpes. There are no significant differences in catching Chlamydia between those who used condoms and those who didn’t.[6] This can lead to infertility.

There is a way to protect yourself 100%: physically, emotionally and spiritually. This is called chastity. As unmarried relationships never improve as a result of sexual activity, chastity protects our relationships from dangerous consequences.

 

The importance of a coherent chastity education

 

Chastity education is a crucial necessity for Christian children in our culture that is dominated by individualism and selfishness. The spirit of generosity, self giving, respect for others, self control and temperance must be communicated as part of this education.[1] Parents are the principal educators of their children and must ensure that their children are under correct supervision and guidance. 

 

The Lord sets before us life and death, prosperity, death and doom (cf. Deutoronomy 30:19). This could not be truer than in the area of sexual ethics. Our capacity to bring true life into the world can be stifled by sin to do precisely the opposite. Abortion and AIDS are harbingers of death rather than life.

 

The culture of death is imposed on our youth today by an aggressive media that does not give preference to the family. In reality sexual liberation has lead to emotional suffocation and many who are publicly sexual are often alienated from their sexuality. The expectance for girls to be sexually active has meant it is harder to call child abuse by its proper name.[2] In a survey done by the national campaign to prevent teen pregnancy in 2004, two thirds of teenagers had said they wished waiting longer before having sex. In a survey of 279 girls, 41% of 14-17 year olds reported having ‘unwanted’ sex.[3] Another study of 19,000 teenagers showed they were 4 times more likely to be depressed if they had experimented with sex.[4] Depressive symptoms increased with the frequency of sex and risky behaviour. A paper by the Pacific Institute of Research in 2005 showed that sex, drugs and alcohol precede adolescent depression. In another study, 372 students stated that they ‘hooked up’ due to pier pressure.[5] We must guard our children from being misled from the power of advertising to believe that happiness and fulfilment occurs through promiscuity and the acquisition of material goods.

 

It has been stated that he who controls the language controls the culture. With this in mind chastity education will succeed if sex is described in the language of self donation. If the media promotes a message and image in preference to the family, and young people are told about a responsible use of the media with the right to be free of pornographic information intact, we can help to build a civilisation of life and love. Sexual activity is fuelled by an unfulfilled desire for true love. In the words of Josh Harris, “Lust would like us to believe that it can make us happy. If we just give it what it wants, it will stop pestering us and be satisfied. Lust is never satisfied, you can’t bargain with it and come out a winner. Lust hijacks sex. It wants to train your desires to delight in the thrill of the forbidden so that you lose your Godly appetite for what is good.”[6] Close physical involvement is not equivalent to true affection.

 

It took God in human flesh and blood to confirm the integral place of the body in nature.[7] Newman told us that by the fact of the incarnation we are taught that matter is an essential part of us, as well as mind, and is capable of sanctification.[8] With this is mind, how we communicate that the body in all its dimensions is a wonderful part of creation is important for building the culture of life. In this respect chastity education is part of developed an authentic maturity that allows us to appreciate and honour the nuptial meaning of the human body. Breaking open the John Paul’s theology of the body for teenagers is a very important task today. Described by George Weigel as a “theological bombshell waiting to go off,” the theology of the body helps us to see the gift and mystery of human sexuality, and to invite the author of love and life into our lives.

 

Through a coherent chastity education, a civilisation of life and love can be built helping to reduce the number of abortions, divorce, STDs and heartache by promoting the virtues of purity, modesty and self respect. If we can pierce the lies and mistakes of the sexual revolution that has brought false freedom and misery, we can help to venerate the beauty and dignity of marriage and celebrate an authentic feminism. Chastity helps to answer the questions: Who am I? Who is God in my life? How do I find love? Chastity is a gift from God, and like lifting weights and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it gets easier to live every day.[9]