EUROPE/SPAIN - New Ley Organica de la Educacion fails to respect fundamental rights and introduces young consciences to moral relativism and gender ideology

Friday, 2 March 2007

Madrid (Agenzia Fides) - “Ley Organica de la Educacion and respective Royal Decrees and the fundamental rights of Parents and Schools” is the title of a statement issued by the Standing Council of the Conference of Spanish Bishops at the end of a meeting 27 -28 February with regard to proposed Education Reforms. The Bishops examine the LOE with care at this decisive moment for the future of education in Spain since the norms ignore certain fundamental rights, and focus their statement on four issues: “Catholic Religious Instruction”, “Catholic Teachers of Religion”, “Education to Citizenship”, “Parent’s Freedom to Choose Education and School”.
First of all the Bishops denounce the LOE for making religious instruction a secondary subject, restricting the number of lessons and offering pupils who choose not to take Religion what is termed ‘educative attention' to be defined by the respective institute", this, the Bishops say, amounts to discrimination against pupils who want to study religion.
LOE introduces “new rules for teachers of religion which are contrary to commitments assumed by the State with the Catholic Church and contrary to the law on this matter" say the Bishops recalling that teachers of religion "are workers in the field of education whose labourers rights must be fully recognised and guaranteed”, however “they also have a specific mission to educate young people in Catholic doctrine and morals which demands special academic qualification and identification with the doctrine they teach", and can only be guaranteed by the Church authorities and the LOE fails to envisage adequate means to enable the Church to fulfil this task.
The Bishops also raise the question of the new subject “Education to Citizenship” which according to the Bishops consists in compulsory state-formation of conscience. "The State has no right to impose moral formation because this formation is a right and freedom of the parents, whereas this new subject is precisely imposed moral formation. It is unacceptable because it imposes legally on all an anthropology upheld by a few and which is highly dangerous since it introduces young consciences to moral relativism and gender ideology".
Lastly the Bishops denounce the LOE for "other measures which seriously undermine parents’ right to choose school and education". The Bishops conclude stressing the need to reach ample consensus or a state pact on basic questions involving basic rights of individuals and schools, and expressing their gratitude to teachers of religion, school directors, Catholic Schools in general, teachers and parents (RG) (Agenzia Fides 2/3/2007; righe 35, parole 445)


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