Youth Blog

The Catholic Register, owned and operated by the Archdiocese of Toronto, published an opinion piece in August that I came across again recently, which I found to be rather confusing, being that the paper is supposed to be run by pro-life Catholics.  

The article penned by Ms. Lea Karen Kivi, seems to suggest the pro-life movement would be better off de-emphasizing the consequences of sexual encounters, instead speaking on consent in the romantic relationships of young people. 

When this article was initially released, I submitted a short letter to the editor criticizing the suggestion that a pro-life movement that shifts their outreach towards teaching about consent in the relationships of young people rather than the reality of what abortion is and does, is not a movement that will succeed. The letter was published, but as I was gathering my thoughts about the author's suggestions, I felt this topic was worth addressing further.

Obviously, sexual assault is a difficult subject and was certainly front of mind at the time of this piece’s publication with the acquittals of five Canadian National Junior Hockey players accused of sexual assault. Many of us know someone affected by sexual assault, or have been affected ourselves, and may we all keep these folks in our prayers.  

For preventing the approximately 1 per cent of abortions caused as a result of sexual assault, I agree that Catholic parents should absolutely be discussing the importance of consent. 

The fundamental grievance of the pro-life movement, however, is and should be that children are being killed in the tens of thousands each day, across the globe.  

I reject the idea that those who are “truly pro-life", as the author states, should make it their focus to teach about consent, rather than continuing to press the fact that our nation is actively participating in a mass worldwide slaughter of the most vulnerable human beings.  

We also too often forget that morality is not based solely on consent. Consent to an abortion does not make abortion justified, and in the same way, consent to a sexual act does not necessarily make that act justified or any less debased in and of itself. The five hockey players were clearly participating in a debauched activity, despite the legal decision that no crime was committed. Even if the pro-life movement had taken a special interest in teaching each person involved about the value of consent, this activity would not have been prevented. 

Though consent is extremely important, we need to more adequately address the root causes of unexpected pregnancies, so that each individual circumstance may be rectified in the way most beneficial to all parties.  

The author, through her framing of this piece to commentate on the aforementioned acquittals, misses the fundamental point that we ought to be addressing as pro-lifers and Catholics. 

Certainly, Catholic parents discussing “the birds and the bees” with their children could be important in avoiding unexpected pregnancies if it is done in an age-appropriate fashion and in alignment with the teachings of the faith. Through this, we reveal to them truths about the natural law, giving them a solid foundation of morality and a sense of duty in treating all people as equally deserving of human dignity. 

Data collected on abortion also tells us that married women are far less likely to kill their unborn children than unmarried women. Even for pro-lifers without religious faith, does this fact not lead us to the obvious answer as to what we ought to espouse? We should be telling our children to practice chastity and abstinence – to save sex for marriage.  

This is the “truly pro-life" and Catholic thing to do, as it is the rightly ordered way to approach the sexual act. Through this, the best outcomes are produced for mother, father, child(ren), and most importantly, in the eyes of God. Is there any form of healthy sexual relationship found outside the bounds of marriage of which He has not been made aware? 

The Sexual Revolution, rooted in first and second-wave feminism, has toppled the proper understanding of the marital act, and seems to have influenced the author’s understanding, as well. This movement of the 1960s caused talk of sex to be outsourced; democratized, in a sense, to the culture, away from religious institutions. Although this malicious revolution was not fully evaded by the Catholic Church, nor any other religious institution, the doctrines of the Church in particular stood firm in defending traditional views of sex, while many other churches began to accept the new doctrines of the world. 

Conversations about sex, when had, must be had at home or in our parish communities with proper catechesis. Parents must not be afraid to have these conversations if they do not wish their children to receive their sexual education from the world. I am sure the author would agree there is no place in our state-sanctioned institutions for graphic sex-ed curricula (as is ubiquitous within Ontario schools, and Canadian schools more broadly), and given the uncomfortable truth for many that rates of sexual abuse within public schools are approximately sixfold higher than within religious institutions, it seems obvious that children are safer to learn in religious environments. 

Evil will exist so long as the world remains, because “the world” stands primarily in hatred of Our Lord, as He says in the Gospel of St. John.  

We as Christians must be proactive rather than reactive in our battle against the world, because such is the only way to build the Kingdom of God here on Earth, where all humans will be recognized as Imago Dei, inherently deserving of protection from conception to natural death, as any true pro-life Catholic would agree.