Dear Parents/Guardians,
A simple question to ask your children is, do you watch pornography? And what would you say to them if they said yes?
The reality is that most young people are unfortunately exposed from an ever younger stage of life to viewing pornography of some description. In particular, for the young men in our care at St Edmund’s we want to skill them up, in what this harmful potential hobby can do not only to their perception of positive future loving relationships but also how it can impact in some way all relationships that they have with others.
‘The Theology of the Body’ written by Anthony Percy is a good starting point. “It is a dynamic new way of understanding who we are. We live in a world dedicated to consumption. As a consequence people are themselves treated as consumer objects. They are used and discarded. Sex becomes a ‘casual indoor sport’. Sex becomes nothing other than opportunity for betrayal. In his Theology of the Body, John Paul II proclaims another way of thinking and living. He says that we human beings are bodily persons. Our bodies are important. Our bodies are symbolic. Our bodies are meant for love. Our bodies have been made free and redeemed by Christ. Theology of the Body Made Simple beautifully communicates that the universal vocation of all humanity is to love as a sincere gift of self.”
Last Friday, we were blessed to have Lara Kirk and 13 men who volunteered to talk to our year 10 students about what Healthy relationship looks like and work through a number of engaging activities. Lara is a member of our College Board and works for the Archbishop’s Office for Evangelisation in the area Marriage, Family and Relationships. We really appreciate her work in organising the volunteers and them giving their time, as this topic of healthy relationships is something really important for our young people to understand now and into their future.
Please find below some resources that may be of use for parents to do some further reading on.
Some resources for parents:
- Brain, Heart, World https://brainheartworld.org/screening-type/ 3 x 30 min documentaries.
- Culture Reframed https://parents.culturereframed.org/course/parents-of-teens/ free online modules for parents on how best to support young people growing up in a porn saturated society.
- Booklet: How to talk to your kids about porn available in the Catholic Bookshop Manuka https://www.catholicbookshop.org.au/product/how-to-talk-to-your-kids-about-pornography-2nd-edition/
Student’s feedback from the day
“Having someone who has experience life can really help with seeing what I want and need for my future”
“To show love and find love and that you don’t need porn”
“It was a good reminder of what to look for and how to be in a relationship”
Michael Monagle
Assistant Principal- Mission and Identity