Primary Educators League

Assisting parents in the eternal vigil of protecting the freedom and holiness of their families.

Monday, May 15, 2006

24 Parishes Approved for "Formation in Christian Chastity" (FICC)

Dear parents,

We are thankful Archbishop Flynn has approved the use of “Formation in Christian Chastity” (FICC), also known as the Harrisburg program, for use in 24 parishes in this archdiocese! This represents just over 10% of all the parishes in the archdiocese of which there are 220 parishes in total. http://www.primaryeducators.org/ficclist.php

Please thank your pastors for writing to Archbishop Flynn to request the use of this alternative program.

We have heard several pastors say that they do not want to go against the wishes of the Archbishop. We certainly are not encouraging any priest to go against the wishes of the Archbishop. The priests have sworn an oath of obedience to him. That being said, pastors are not going against Archbishop Flynn when they write him to request an alternative “safe environments” program such as FICC. Since the beginning of the public statements about “safe environments” the Archbishop has graciously allowed pastors to petition him directly in writing to request the use of an alternative program as long as the program meets the guidelines of Article 12 of the Charter and that the auditors have already approved its use in other dioceses: http://www.archspm.org/pcyi/

If your parish has not yet made a decision, there appears to still be time to do so. There are two upcoming deadlines. We believe the chancery would like to hear from as many parishes as possible by May 20th as to what they intend to use for their “safe environments” curricula. The final deadline we’ve heard is June 30th so that they can get product ordered for the ’06-’07 school year.

There is still time to respectfully and charitably engage your pastor, principal and director of religious education (DRE). Since the Church teaches that parents are the primary educators of their children in areas of life and love, get involved in the analysis, research, and decision making for your parish. While it’s up to the pastor to petition the archbishop, that does not mean he has to make this decision alone. Many pastors continue to ask for feedback and recommendations from parents. Get involved. Do your homework. Make sure your voice is heard.

Last week, The Catholic Spirit published the letter linked below in the Letters to the Editor section. We believe this is the first time “Formation in Christian Chastity” has been mentioned in The Catholic Spirit: http://www.thecatholicspirit.com/archives.php?article=5486

Please say a prayer of thanksgiving for Archbishop Flynn and his willingness to approve these parishes for FICC. Let’s also pray for all of those parishes who have not yet made a decision about these programs.

God bless,

Primary Educators League
www.primaryeducators.org
http://www.altorfamiliarum002.blogspot.com/

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