Here’s something for all you homeschoolers. LifeSite News reports on Archbishop Tomasi’s defense of educational choice at last week’s UN International Conference on Education. I had no idea homeschooling was so restricted in other countries, but this article explains.
Tomasi’s assertion on the rights of parents is directly opposed by some European countries, most notably Germany, which retains a Nazi-era law forbidding homeschooling. In recent years, parents who have chosen to shield their children from the heavily secularised, and sexualised, state education have been hounded in the courts and had their children seized by the state.
The explanation of the concept of subsidiarity and its political implications is also fascinating. It says,
The concept of subsidiarity in Catholic social teaching means that the needs of the individual are best served by the stratum of society closest to him, starting with the family. Catholic teaching holds that it is the purpose of the state to safeguard the family and the family’s rights. This doctrine is directly opposed to the high-level statist concepts of social theory that are currently at the fore in the UN and European Union, where governments are creating increasingly tightly regulated social conditions.
This is something I need to learn more about. I will happily take book recommendations!
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And now, I’m sorry… but I can’t resist. Take a look at this video.
Wow. Just wow. This isn’t “good-natured” fun in my book. It’s an example of the misunderstanding of the dignity of our sexuality and personhood– and an indication of why we have to teach our children the Theology of the Body.
I’m all for not overreacting. We all make errors in judgment, and we don’t know when this video was made, etc. We can have an honest dialogue about this without demonizing Favreau. Plus, making vehement accusations of sexism doesn’t really seem to change any minds.
But we have to have an honest dialogue. Why haven’t we seen a stronger response? Because if we don’t have a right understanding of human sexuality and identity, we won’t look at the underlying social trends and don’t have a motivation to criticize this action as anything other than an insult against a former political rival. A secular perspective might call this picture sexist because it undermines the equality between men and women. Our criticism should be that we aren’t talking enough about the importance of our sexuality– and that pictures like this suggest that, as a culture, we’re missing something essential.
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And one last thing: check out this conference if you happen to be in there area. Looks like some great speakers and workshops. Details to register are listed below.
More details….
- Keynote Speaker – Most Rev. Charles Chaput, Archbishop of Denver (what a treat!)
- Main Speaker – SherryWeddell Co-Founder and Director Catherine of Siena Institute
- Multiple Workshops – Scripture, Spirituality, Youth ministry, Parish renewal, and much more
Contact: 313-883-8792 ][ http://www.shms.edu/ ][ lessonsfromstpaul@shms.edu
