Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Madrid (Agenzia Fides) - The Professionals for Ethics Association warns that the subject Education to Citizenship which the Spanish government intends to make compulsory “interferes with the moral formation of children, which is a right of parents not the ministry of education. The minimum contents of the proposed new School Subject were made public in a recent Official National Bulletin. Jaime Urcelay Professionals for Ethics Association director said: "we are in favour of formation in values necessary for life and social harmony but we firmly oppose this new subject which is simply an ideological tool at the service of whatever government is in power".
The Association has published a leaflet giving ten reasons for rejecting the new subject proposed by the government. One reason is that the Subject is state interference in the moral education of school children; it denies the objective existence of truth and good; it claims to education in ethics ignoring religious traditions, the existence of God and the transcendent dimension of the human person; it imposes an ideology of gender and diverse affective-sexual options; it abuses the emotions and affections of pupils renouncing the pedagogy of effort, commitment and will; it judges observing the pupils behaviour rather than the acquisition of knowledge; it is discriminatory with regard to the subject of Religion which becomes optional.
In July last year the Professionals for Ethics Association was among 16 organisations working on a document Guidelines for Objection of Conscience (see Fides 27/7/2006), to help parents avail themselves of the right to be objectors of conscience against a School Subject with interferes with the moral formation of children. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 23/1/2007; righe 21, parole 269)
