Friday 24 July 2009

Times: Gozo Bishop expresses doubts on sexual health policy

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090724/local/gozo-bishop-expresses-doubts-on-sexual-health-policy
Friday, 24th July 2009

Gozo Bishop Mario Grech has reservations on the vision of sexuality and the concept of sexual health being proposed in the recently-published report on the national strategy.

"The fact that we have reached the point where, because of promiscuity, more education on the use of contraceptives at the right time and its medical implications is proposed gives rise to concerns about the ethical fibre of our society," Mgr Grech said.

He was speaking during a Pontifical Mass he led on the feast of St George in Victoria on Sunday.

Mgr Grech said that, in today's society, there were people who were "playing with the nature of marriage, not only those who did not accept that the bond could not be broken but also those who maintained it could be celebrated by a couple of the same sex".

The report by the Social Affairs Committee said education on sexual health had to be prioritised and convey a positive message. Rather than warning people to abstain from sex it should teach them what to do with their sexuality.

The committee said the national sexual health policy should promote education on the use of condoms and contraceptives and how a couple should mature in a relationship.
Information on abstinence and contraceptives had to be clear and free of taboos and prejudice, it said.

It should be based on the values of education and prevention, responsibility and fidelity and should send a clear and focused message, the committee said.

The strategy also had much in common with education in favour of strong relationships and the national policy on the family and their integration would have beneficial effects on society, it concluded.

[Click on the hyperlink above to read the comments on the Times' website.]
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by Dr Ing. P. Attard

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Sexual Health Strategy document (in Maltese):




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Related Articles:


IL-VERA LIBERTÀ minn Mons. Mario Grech Isqof ta' Għawdex

6 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 24, 2009

    Fuck the church! Why do we even give a shit about it? we should be focusing on the secularisation of the government; only then can we move forward.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The guy is outdated.

    The church ought to be a democratic institution of catholic faith and not the dictatorial one it is today.

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  3. AnonymousJuly 24, 2009

    This is so ironic...priests preaching against same sex marriage and yet most of them go around molesting young boys!

    If I had the power I would destroy all the religious people and bomb all the churches.

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  4. Dear anonymous.

    Whilst most of us feel hurt with the teachings of the Church and the violence (physical or psycological) they indirectly inluence, I strongly disagree with violence in any form. Any further messages like the above "destroy all the religious people and bomb all the churches" WILL BE DELETED.

    P. Attard

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  5. You have to feel sorry for the man from Gozo. He does not yet realise that the "old morality" is long dead and gone. Morality is not just about sex. It is about respecting other individuals and accepting them for what they are. No one is forcing Grech to enter into a same-sex relationship. He is free to keep loving God in his own way. And I am sure Almighty God is jumping out of his skin at the prospect of a celibate Grech. Small things amuse the mind of a small God.

    Joseph Carmel Chetcuti

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  6. I doubt the officials will heed his message.

    ReplyDelete