Romanian Orthodox Church
believes morality supersedes politics.
From Voice of Europe
‘Romania drops compulsory sex ed from schools
after Church outcry’
By Michael Lord
3 June 2020
The Romanian Parliament voted to drop mandatory “sexual education”
from school programmes today after it was condemned by the Romanian Orthodox
Church.
Romania’s Parliament, with support from President Klaus
Iohannis, initially passed legislation two months ago which made it compulsory
for schools to teach sexual education to their students a minimum of once every
six months, or once per semester. The law was supported by MPs from Iohannis’
ruling National Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party. Supporters
claimed that the aim of the programme was to combat sexually transmitted
diseases and reduce instances of pregnancy among minor girls.
The Romanian Orthodox Church condemned the legislation, however,
calling it an attack on the innocence of childhood. The Church also opposed the
law on the basis of children’s rights and freedom of conscience. This led
Parliament to repeal the law in its original form today.
More than 80% of Romanians adhere to the Romanian Orthodox
Church.
Iohannis will now put forward revised legislation which
makes no reference to sexual education. It will instead speak of “education for
life” which includes classes aimed at preventing sexually transmitted diseases
and teen pregnancy. Parents will also be required to consent in writing to
their children being taught these courses, according to a report by Balkan Insight.
The repeal and the new bill are being supported by some of
the same MPs who had backed the original law mere weeks ago.
Romania’s approach to sexual
education stands in sharp contrast to educational programmes in Western Europe,
where it is often strongly emphasised. Last month, a British school was forced
to apologise after parents learned that 11-year-old students were being asked
to define terms like hardcore pornography, transsexual pornography, and sexting
as part of a sexual education course, as previously reported by Voice of
Europe.
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