In a letter to Irish government ministers, hundreds of religious leaders voiced their strong objections to the controversial curriculum changes to those already raised by parents in recent months. Under proposals to be implemented as of the beginning of the next school year, children between the ages of 12 and 15 will be encouraged to discuss pornography, while transgender ideology will be taught to children at both the primary and secondary levels. Several Irish church leaders warned Education Minister Norma Foley and Children’s Minister Roderic O’Gorman of the serious “repercussions” for Irish society if these changes were to be enacted, reiterating that as clergy, “we represent thousands of Bible-believing Christian parents and grandparents across the nation who find this measure totally unacceptable and deeply troubling.”
The letter goes on to say that “the Bible’s teaching on marriage, sexuality and gender is the best for individuals and societies to flourish. It deeply pains us to see the promotion of what will cause harm to people, especially children.” Referring to the current proposal to expose 12- to 15-year-olds to pornographic content, the priests’ letter warns of the “danger which this material, in whatever form, poses to the impressionable hearts and minds of children and adolescents.”
In fact, as the letter says, the government does not expose “children to alcohol or drugs in the interest of their education, so why do it with something that research has shown to be as addictive as cocaine,” pornography? Rightly in the religious leaders’ denunciation, they called transgender ideology “unbiblical and unscientific” and urged ministers not to lead Ireland down a “tragic and wrong path” that would inevitably lead to “damaged young lives,” and they reiterated the basic primary right that it is the parents’ “sole responsibility and right to choose what and when to teach their children about sexuality and gender, not the teachers, politicians or activists.” Therefore, the government is asked to “stop the promotion of transgenderism to impressionable children” and “desist from undermining the authority of parents.”
The same demands were put forth by the parent associations in late January when, following the publication of the new school curricula effective from September 2023 and public consultation, thousands of parents denounced the abuse of power and unjust danger that the government wanted to promote against parents and children. The government led by Ireland’s newly appointed Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who is openly gay and a promoter of the gay marriage referendum, will have to decide on what to do: continue along the lines of promoting promiscuity and mental and moral violence toward children or listen to the voices of parents and churches? Voting on this issue has been scheduled for February 2025, but the choices of these months will affect the vote, Irish politicians are warned.