"It may not be very Catholic, but it's real" Sr. Fran Donnelly - Relevant Radio

Yesterday on the Drew Mariani show on Relevant Radio (http://www.relevantradio.com/), 1330am in the Twin Cities, Sr. Fran Donnelly and Sharon Tomlin were on the air. During that program they confirmed several key items. (Note, we have recorded the show and should have audio clips available within the next several days. We will send out a message once they are ready).

First of all, if you recall, Sr. Fran Donnelly had sent an archdiocesan-wide e-mail stating that an organization called PrimaryEducators.org was spreading "inaccurate information" and had "flaws and misinformation in their presentation." This is false and misleading information. We sent an e-mail to Sr. Fran asking her to clarify her comments and to let us know what information was incorrect. If we were wrong, we would correct the error and state it publicly. However, we received no response and no correction from Sr. Fran.

From what we learned on the radio yesterday, we believe that we continue to state the facts of this situation in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis accurately.

For the record, here’s what we learned yesterday:

1) Sr. Fran Donnelly confirmed publicly, that yes, “Formation in Christian Chastity” has been approved for some parishes and schools. (Please make sure your pastors know this!)

2) Sharon Tomlin confirmed that the Ian lesson plan is recommended/required but that they are working on the “wording” of the language in the lesson plan so that rather than the lesson stating Ian’s mother’s boyfriend put his hand down Ian’s pajama bottoms it will be changed to Ian’s mother’s relative putting his hand down Ian’s pajama bottoms. (We can all feel more comfortable about this now, right?).

3) Sharon Tomlin did not deny that the Kerry lesson plan is recommended/required. There was no mention about changing any wording for Kerry.

4) It remains unclear as to whether the lessons selected by the Archdiocese are required to be taught or merely recommended. Catholic schools must teach four lessons each year. Religious Education must teach two lessons. So if the lessons aren’t necessarily required, that must mean that administrators/teachers might be able to select from the other lessons that are included in the 40 lesson kit? Is this supposed to make us feel more confident in the situation?

5) It was stated at the February 10, 2006 Archdiocesan rollout meeting that since all the schools will have the complete kits and since the folks at Committee for Children/”Talking About Touching” recommend that it’s best to teach these lessons to the children in the context of a full “safe environments” curricula, teachers can feel free to teach more of the lessons in the kit should they choose.

Sharon Tomlin denied this on the radio yesterday. So now it appears they do not recommend teaching more lesson plans than the four.

6) They disclosed yesterday that the Archbishop gave his approval for “Talking About Touching” at the end of January. However, on February 6, 2006, John Murphy had a conversation with Sharon Tomlin about the selection of the children’s curricula. Sharon Tomlin said, at that time….just four days before the rollout, that they still had not made a final decision. Why the lack of transparency? Why not just say, "yes, we have chosen a program, but we cannot disclose that until the February 10, 2006 meeting." For the record, after a couple of e-mails and a phone conversations, it was Sharon Tomlin who encouraged John to continue to call her back during December – January to see if a decision had been made.

7) Just before Drew went to a break, Sr. Fran recommended that parents should opt their children out.

8) After several questions, Sr. Fran made the statement, “it (meaning “Talking About Touching”) may not be very Catholic, but it’s real.”

Welcome to reality – “Talking About Touching” coming to a parish near you in the fall of 2006.

"Talking About Touching" Teacher's Guide - Shattering the Innocence of Children?

Teacher’s Guide: “Talking About Touching” Grades 1-3, Third Edition 2001, p. 29

This is the teacher’s guide that comes with the 40 lesson kit for grades 1-3. The comments immediately following are to give guidance to teachers instructing our young Catholic school children ages 6-8 year olds. Remember, those in second grade are preparing for the Sacraments of First Confession and First Communion.

“When one student’s behavior threatens to disrupt a lesson, gently remind him or her of classroom ground rules. Restless fidgeting can sometimes be curbed by letting the child hold a stuffed animal or squeeze a soft ball. An extremely disruptive student can be directed to sit nearby but slightly apart from the group. She or he can still benefit from the lesson but be less of a distraction to the other students. If the disruptive behavior seems to be directly related to the lesson content, this may be an indicator that the child has been abused. Follow up later by talking with that child one-on-one" (emphasis added).

This couldn’t possibly be the way children respond when their innocence is being shattered, could it? It’s interesting to note that they assume that the child may have been abused rather than the possibility that he or she is squirming because he/she can’t mentally process the deviant sexual scenarios being presented by a trusted authority – his/her teacher.

Secondly, is anyone else reminded of the fraud that was perpetrated on the parents involved in day care centers in the 1990’s when the so-called experts questioned small children as to whether or not they had been sexually abused? What are we setting ourselves up for here?

Remember that the VIRTUS Parent’s Guide, which all of you received and read, states that one of the reasons why it’s important for your child to know the proper names of his or her private body parts is so he can “accurately communicate about his or her body to parents, medical personnel, or even to the police if the child is ever harmed.” In other words, the children need to be able to give a good interview to the authorities.

Immediately following the statement above in the “Talking About Touching” Teacher’s Guide, it goes on to say:

“If a child discloses during a lesson, explain that you will talk to him or her privately after the lesson.”

So, not only do we have to be concerned about dealing with such a sensitive topic as child sex abuse in our Catholic elementary classrooms, but we also have to be aware that a child might disclose that they have been sexually abused. The other children will be subjected to this.

Additionally, does anyone else have a problem with a teacher pulling aside your little 2nd or 3rd grader, without your permission or presence, and asking them questions as to whether or not they have been sexually abused?

But remember, the archdiocese continues to say they respect the rightful role and duty of parents to be the primary educators of their children in areas of life and love.

Homosexual Rights Group - Early Supporter of VIRTUS in Twin Cities

Catholic Rainbow Parents, a homosexual rights organization, was one of the first groups to publicly support the efforts of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in its choice to use VIRTUS.

Catholic Rainbow Parents are part of an active GLBT (Gays, Lesbians, Bi-sexuals, and Transgenders) network in the Twin Cities. The network includes the Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities (CPCSM) and Dignity/Twin Cities. Perhaps you saw these groups in the news recently during their vocal protest at the Cathedral on World Marriage Day, February 12, 2006.

The GLBT network is actively pushing for homosexual rights including making gay marriage the law of the land in Minnesota. Catholic Rainbow Parents has called the Minnesota Bishops stance against gay marriage as "spiritual abuse."

In their inaugural public statement, Catholic Rainbow Parents proclaimed their support of VIRTUS in July 2005 before 99% of the Twin Cities parents had any idea what VIRTUS or "Safe Environments" were. How is it they had the early track on VIRTUS? By not revealing all the facts about homosexual predation in society, is VIRTUS providing cover for the homosexual problem plaguing the Church?

Catholic Rainbow Parents state:

We share the perspective of the National Catholic Risk Retention Group's VIRTUS programs, with which the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis collaborates in response to the mandate of the "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People" adopted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in June 2002.

The VIRTUS programs report that, "It is a myth that most sex abusers are homosexuals. Most sex offenders are not homosexual; they are heterosexual . . . Studies repeatedly show that most male molesters of boys are not homosexual with adults. It is a faulty assumption that an adult male who selects a young boy as a victim is gay."

Recognizing that homosexuality is an expression of the sacred gift of human sexuality, we bear public witness to the joy and blessings that our GLBT children bring to our families and our communities. We celebrate our children as gifts from God in all of their aspects, and regard them as full-fledged members of both Church and society.

Given that homosexuals make up 2% of the population, it is a correct statement that most of the child sex abusers are heterosexuals. However, VIRTUS is not providing the full truth and that is that homosexuals make up a significantly greater percentage of child sex abusers than their 2% of the population number would imply. For an excellent analysis on this, please read Brian Clowes and David Sonnier's report, "Child Molestation by homosexuals and heterosexuals" published in Homiletic and Pastoral Review.