Pamphlet Handed Out To San Francisco Catholic Elementary School Students Poses Questions About Masturbation, Birth Control, Sodomy
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – There is a new controversy involving the Catholic Church in San Francisco and schools in the city.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, some parents say a pamphlet handed out recently to elementary school students at the Star of the Sea School was inappropriate and went too far in terms of broaching sexual topics.
Copies of "The Examination of Conscience and Catholic Doctrine" were passed out to students in second through sixth grades just before confession.
Parents said the pamphlet contained several questions that were sexual in nature, including "Did I perform impure acts by myself (masturbation) or with another (adultery, fornication and sodomy)?" and "Did I practice artificial birth control or was I or my spouse prematurely sterilized (tubal ligation or vasectomy)?"
Some students at the school told the Chronicle they were confused by what they were reading, not exactly understanding all of the terminology.
Rev. Joseph Illo, pastor at Star of the Sea Church, is no stranger to controversy. He made headlines recently when he banned girls from acting as altar servers at Mass.
On Wednesday, Ilo acknowledged the pamphlet was handed out on December 6th.
"The pamphlet, published by the Fathers of Mercy, had been used by both Star of the Sea priests for several years in other parishes. Among the 70 items for reflection, some were not age appropriate for schoolchildren. We apologize for this oversight and removed the pamphlet as soon as this was brought to our attention by the school faculty in December," Ilo wrote.
Meanwhile, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone is embroiled in his own controversy. Earlier this month, he presented teachers at the archdiocese's four high schools with a statement that said Catholic school employees were expected to conduct their public lives in a way that doesn't undermine the church's doctrine.
The statement was to be added to a teacher's handbook and outlined the church's teaching that using contraception is a sin and sex outside of marriage, whether it be adultery, masturbation, pornography or homosexual relations, is "gravely evil."
Eight California lawmakers sent a letter to Archbishop Cordileone on Tuesday, urging him to remove the morality clauses, saying they are discriminatory in nature.
