Carmen Álvarez Cuadrado / Santiago Taboada
If there's one concept causing controversy at the 15 Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Hamburg, Germany, it's this:
«Sexuelle Bildung» it doesn't mean “sex education” in the sense of age-appropriate, objective, and scientific information. It refers to a specific educational concept that views children sexual beings from birth and encourages them to engage in sexual acts.
It dates back to the '70s. It was developed by Helmut Kentler, a German educator and convicted pedophile. His disciple, Uwe Sielert, turned it into a concept now used in German schools, including Catholic schools, supported by the diocese.
Rome Reports spoke with one of the mothers leading the protest. The families oppose teaching these ideas to their children. They consider some of them serious and contrary to Catholic teaching.
VARINIA ARAUCO
German Mother
For example, when you change a baby's diaper, they say the child experiences certain sensations and may think, “I like being touched,” or “the diaper rubs against me.” I mean, it's a sick idea.
Varinia explains that nearly 70% of the students are immigrants, most of them Catholic, but also Orthodox and Muslim. She says Muslim families prefer a Catholic school rather than having their children taught gender ideology.
VARINIA ARAUCO
German Mother
We came together as parents from different schools and formed this initiative, “Elternnetzwerk,” a network of parents working to protect our children.
They collected signatures and spent nearly a year sending letters to the relevant authorities: the director of the Catholic schools, the archdiocese, and even the Bishops' Conference.
VARINIA ARAUCO
German Mother
When the director told us in February that there would be no change, that everything would stay the same, we said, “Ok, we're wasting our time here. They've made us waste our time. Nothing is changing. Now we have to take this to the Holy See.”
They had one option left: the nuncio in Germany, whom they met with last March.
VARINIA ARAUCO
German Mother
He listened to us and told us we had his support, that he understood the situation, and that he would forward all the letters we had been sending to the Holy Father and the five dicasteries.
The letter reached the Secretariat of State, Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, the Dicastery for Culture and Education, the Dicastery for Bishops, and the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
So far, only the Dicastery for Culture and Education has responded. In a brief letter dated July 6th, the undersecretary responded to the request, confirming that the course should follow the one outlined in an official dicastery document from 2019.
The parents studied both documents, comparing them side by side and created two more. They called their analysis “Hamburg Against Rome,” highlighting some of the differences on issues such as sexual identity and marriage.
The families did this to protect themselves. One document they created provides teachers with organizations they can turn to for guidance on what they can do.
The other document requires schools to notify the parents in advance about the materials that will be taught. Once they receive them, they can decide how to respond.
VARINIA ARAUCO
German Mother
That's why, basically, the only thing the law allows us to do is require them to give us the materials before the class.
With all this on the table, the parents see only one way forward: for the pope to put a stop to it.
VARINIA ARAUCO
German Mother
As I've told many people, the only one who can do something is the Holy Father. We've reached that point. There's nothing more we can do. Now the question is: will the Holy Father actually take decisive action?
Currently, nothing has changed. Classes began on August 20th, and without any concrete answers, Germany remains in a climate of uncertainty.
