Another Useless Vatican Document

by Christopher A. Ferrara

   Converts and vocations may be in short supply in the "springtime" of Vatican II, but Vatican documents abound. Most of them are completely useless since the Vatican is unwilling to put any real teeth in them.

   One example of a Useless Vatican Document (UVD) is The Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality issued by Cardinal Trujillo at the Pontifical Council for the Family back in 1995. This was supposed to be the UVD that would finally put the brakes on the filthy, downright pornographic sex-education programs being foisted on innocent children by the North American hierarchy. (One of these programs, used in the Archdiocese of Miami, is so disgusting that it could not be read on the air by a TV news reporter during litigation over the program which I handled.) Well, Trujillo's document did nothing, because Trujillo did nothing to enforce it.

   Now Trujillo proposes yet another UVD. During the recent cardinals' consistory at the Vatican, Trujillo proposed—get this—"a manual to help the Church better understand human sexuality." (Reuters, May 24, 2001) A manual?

   Yes, a manual. Trujillo actually has a team involved in writing up a "lexicon on issues related to sexuality and the family." The "lexicon" will be the work of "50 experts"—count 'em, fifty!—in various fields, such as anthropology, sexuality, sociology and psychology." Just what we need.

   What will the book have to say? According to Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls, it will include "new definitions of sexuality and anthropology that have come into use in recent years or have taken on different meanings." This sounds like it could be the grand daddy of all UVDs.

   While we are waiting for this new book to be written by the fifty experts, perhaps someone at the Vatican could provide the American bishops with a quote or two from a very old book authored by a single Expert, who lived in Galilee 2,000 years ago. One quote in particular is very pertinent to the activities of those "shepherds" who corrupt the innocent with explicit "sex education"—while Trujillo and his experts do nothing, despite the mountains of complaints and documentary evidence they have received from outraged parents:

   "But he that shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in Me, it were better for him that a millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea." Matt. 18:6

   We don't need experts in "anthropology, sexuality, sociology and psychology" to understand those words. What we need is Churchmen who fear them.