State-sponsored Sexual Abuse of Minors
Oct 17, 2004
"I had to say something as a leader of the Church. I was intensely worried about the diminution of standards in our country. I felt that not enough was being said. But now people are thinking about what might be going on in their schools. I think we are going down a slippery slope. I don’t have kids, obviously, but we don’t want our kids to be seeing drawings of sexual organs at the age of three or five."
(The Scotsman, Sat 16 Oct 2004) This summer, Cardinal O’Brien had a pleasant meeting with Malcolm Chisholm, then health minister, to discuss sexual health; a few weeks later, he accused the Executive of "state-sponsored sexual abuse of minors" over potential plans, denied by ministers, to teach sex education in nursery schools.
Cardinal O’Brien is unrepentant and proud of the support his statement gathered. He says: "I had to say something as a leader of the Church. I was intensely worried about the diminution of standards in our country. I felt that not enough was being said. But now people are thinking about what might be going on in their schools. I think we are going down a slippery slope. I don’t have kids, obviously, but we don’t want our kids to be seeing drawings of sexual organs at the age of three or five. If they are going to be shown in primary school, I also think that there should be some sort of simple moral value. Just because you’ve got certain organs doesn’t mean you’ve got to use them because you are ten, 11 or 12."
State-sponsored Sexual Abuse of Minors