Condom-promoting play mandatory for freshman

On October 13, 2009, California Catholic Daily reported on the presentation of the condom-promoting play Secrets at four high schools within the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Secrets, a travelling production that visits schools and other organizations, is produced by the Kaiser Foundation.

The October, 2009 story: “The play depicts a teenager who is HIV positive. Some content inSecrets was considered, by the Fremont, California Unified School District, to be sufficiently graphic to require that a permission slip be signed by parents before their child would be allowed to see it.

“The Fremont Unified School District also posts an online flyer (in English and Chinese) for parents, informing them of the performance, and inviting them to watch a video of Secrets before giving their permission.

“The flyer also describes two of the scenes: ‘A character dumps dozens of brightly wrapped condoms on the floor with a discussion about which type of condoms are the best to use and how to use them effectively.’ Another scene is a Discussion about contraceptives and a visual display of them.”

CalCatholic’s story was picked up nationally in the Catholic media. But the Educational Theater Programs website has a calendar for the 2012 performances of Secrets in high schools and other institutions throughout Northern California.

The calendar, dated February 15, 2012, lists St. Ignatius College Prep as hosting a performance of Secrets on February 16, and Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep hosting a performance on February 23 (“National Condom Week” ran from February 14-21). The St. Ignatius school calendar had no listing for the event, but Sacred Heart’s school calendar did.

Further, the calendar entry indicated that no “opt-out” was available for those who might have found a play pushing condom usage objectionable: Secrets Performance (Mandatory for ALL Freshman) 2/23/2012 7:45 AM.” Emphasis in the original.

The two schools are the only Catholic schools listed as scheduling performances of Secrets, at least through November of 2012.

 

READER COMMENTS

Posted Monday, April 16, 2012 12:08 AM By JLS
Instead of kicking out the student and dollars that go along with him or her, they indulge them. Because it is under the auspices of the Church, the name for this is “temple prostitution”.

Posted Monday, April 16, 2012 12:08 AM By Bob
We know about “Catholic” colleges and now this….Where are the bishops? What’s next, K-8?

Posted Monday, April 16, 2012 12:57 AM By Dan 
The students are the real loosers here. The only good that I see is that Calcatholic helped reduce the dissenters’ spiritual assault on their students from 4 high schools to two. If the bishops ever develop a spine, maybe next year it will be only one, or , hopefully, no catholic schools that poison the well.

Posted Monday, April 16, 2012 4:11 AM By Vicious Ski Ven
What’s the point of a “Catholic” school if it promotes sin? It looks like many Dioceses are in need of purification. Maybe some government persecution wouldn’t be too bad after all.

Posted Monday, April 16, 2012 5:14 AM By Juergensen
The Smoke of Satan at work in Amchurch.

Posted Monday, April 16, 2012 5:22 AM By Catherine
It is no secret! Christ’s children are deliberately being scandalized! Satan is being invited and welcomed into many of our Catholic Universities, Catholic high schools and Catholic grade schools. Don’t you think that Satan realizes that if our shepherds themselves are compromised in any way that silence will be the course of action? This is why it is so important to have leaders who are not compromised. This is why personal holiness is important. Thank you CCD for helping to expose this evil. Faithful Catholics do realize that this is not what the Catholic Church teaches. These assaults stem from years of ignoring Catholic Church Teaching. Pope Benedict has spoken about removing the filth within the Church. This story and the report about the drag show at USD are the rotten fruits of that filth. Thank you again CCD for reporting on the continuing assault on Christ’s children and the assault on Christ’s True Church. Your timely report is Providential. Now this ongoing filth will not be kept such a total secret while the California bishops are having their ad limina visit.

Posted Monday, April 16, 2012 5:36 AM By Jeff
Will the bishop step in discipline the school?

Posted Monday, April 16, 2012 6:32 AM By JMJ
No way would I allow any of my children to see this anti-church and anti-God play. Home schooling is the only way to go for now and Obama will stop that when he puts himself back into office this fall. Sin is still sin and God has not and will not change for us and in case we might forget: GOD WILL NOT BE MOCKED, even by His ‘catholic’ children. +JMJ+

Posted Monday, April 16, 2012 6:32 AM By Ted
The schools should have found this play objectionable and it would never have to ignore parents’ wishes. This is bad, bad stewardship of a good many sets of parents’ children. The San Francisco archdiocese should intervene, but – true to form – the bishop will undoubtedly ignore the situation. At one time I thought the quality of oversight from Rome was getting better. Unfortunately it seems to be on the decline again.

Posted Monday, April 16, 2012 7:01 AM By Kh
Do you think +Niedeurer has this listed under “faith formation” or “ecumenism” in his quinquennial report he will present to Pope Benedict this week at the California ad limina?

Posted Monday, April 16, 2012 7:35 AM By Camille
Mandatory for all freshmen? Are today’s parents such sheep that they would submit to that silly demand? I think not.

Posted Monday, April 16, 2012 8:23 AM By OneoftheSheep
Anyone preferring to “opt out” of this abomination in the Catholic Schools should be given the time to study and learn about Holy Mother Church’s teachings on The Theology of the Body and the innate gift reflecting the Trinitarian Love as opposed to this drivel. We can do better for our youth. Yes, we can and yes we must.

Posted Monday, April 16, 2012 9:30 AM By Chardin
The reason the vast majority of students are in schools with a Catholic label is for the nuts and bolts education of math, science and language. That’s what the parents pay for and that’s what they get. They don’t want “Catholic”. The ability to provide competitive instruction is based on the capital accrued from the faith based organization of the past, and no more. In the end, such competitiveness is not sustainable as students are escorted “slouching to Gomorrah”. The impact SI students make on the world will inevitably turn from life giving to narcissistic acquisition. They will be VERY well trained for it, too. –SI Grad, Class of 1983

Posted Monday, April 16, 2012 9:40 AM By Ruth
Does anyone really expect a Bishop that watched Brokeback Mountain and publicly stated it to be “Very Powerful” to step to the plate and do the right thing? LOL!

Posted Monday, April 16, 2012 9:54 AM By newguy40
This is very odd. My wife and I could not afford the tuition of the closest Catholic High School. So, we ended up sending our son to a private “Christian” school. And, I am confident the “Christian” school would never, ever allow such an abomination to take place there. Turns out that the “Christian School” is a bit closer to Catholic teaching than some so called Catholic HS.

Posted Monday, April 16, 2012 10:08 AM By Jason
But all the “Catholics” involved in this scandal, from bishops on down are in “full communion,” right? New Church has been a bad bad joke from the start and it only becomes more obvious as the years go by.

Posted Monday, April 16, 2012 11:04 AM By FrMichael
No opt-out? What the…? Double scandal: showing such a filty play in the first place, and negating parents’ rights as the first and foremost educators of their children. Shameful!

Posted Monday, April 16, 2012 11:18 AM By Philippe
I’m beginning to think NOTHING will ever improve until the laity become organized to stage large, noisy, lay demonstrations attracting the media. Can you just imagine how much gloss festoons the written diocesan reports that precede the ad liminas, and have done for all the decades since VAT II ?

Posted Monday, April 16, 2012 11:38 AM By mrpkguy
California Catholic Daily: why can’t you post the web sites of these institutions as well as the Bishops’ so that your readers can inundate the sites ……this also goes for other objectionable things that are going on so that the voice of the faithful can voice their objections!

Posted Monday, April 16, 2012 12:00 PM By k
I hope these schools will make sure that their students know all the consequences of engaging in unmarried sex, especially the spiritual ones. Every time you leave the path of the Lord, you increase your sorrows in life.

Posted Monday, April 16, 2012 1:31 PM By DMR
Let’s think about this for a moment. Abstinence is being taught as a priority in health classes across the country. We are seeing, however, that this is not always effective. There will always be some people who choose not to abstain from sex, despite what they are told. Is it not better then to educate these people about ways to avoid STDs and pregnancy. I know contraceptives are prohibited in the Catholic faith (although for some reason counting the days in a menstrual cycle to avoid pregnancy is not) but if people are choosing to sin by having premarital sex, shouldn’t we prevent them from getting pregnant? The fact is that we can’t convince everyone to abstain from sex. Can’t we at least tell those who do have intercourse not to get pregnant?

Posted Monday, April 16, 2012 1:51 PM By Kristen 
I watched this play at Novato High School when I was a senior in 1989! During the Q@A I asked why they were not promoting chastity and was booed by the rest of my fellow students and given a condescending answer by the actors. I am now much older and wiser. When I reflect back on this play I am appalled at the misinformation and agenda being pushed in this play. Furthermore, the scene where the condoms drop and the teen couple is picking out a condom was tacky and tasteless. I am now a mother of 6 children and I would not let any of them watch this play. The Church’s teaching on Human Sexuality are beautiful and give each person such dignity. Why would a Catholic School serve its students Ritz Crackers and Velveeta Cheese when you are able to give them Caviar on a silver platter??

Posted Monday, April 16, 2012 2:29 PM By Geo
The parents of the students should “opt out” of the school and go to a public school where, at least the students won’t have their Faith corrupted.

Posted Monday, April 16, 2012 3:18 PM By JLS
No, Jason, full communion is created by receiving the Holy Eucharist in a state of grace. Those complicit in assaulting Christ’s “Little Ones” pretty much have excommunicated themselves. Instead of building communion with God through the Eucharist, they are crafting millstones around their necks.

Posted Monday, April 16, 2012 4:43 PM By Alphonsus Jr. 
Isn’t the “new springtime” of Vatican II just wonderful? “For there is no good tree that bringeth forth evil fruit; nor an evil tree that bringeth forth good fruit.” -Luke 6:43

Posted Monday, April 16, 2012 5:05 PM By JLS
Courageous, Kristen!!! Whether alone or in small groups, when, against all odds, you stand up for the truth, the Lord will provide you with what you need to accomplish the action.

Posted Monday, April 16, 2012 5:14 PM By goodcause
Remember when Pope Benedict flew to Africa a few years ago and told reporters on the plane that condom use might help spread AIDS? The press made him a laughingstock and a Vatican official sniffed that “the Church will not be intimidated into changing its teachings”. Now we have this little caper, yet another example of our Church’s complete immersion in sex at the expense of anything else, with the exception of saying Holy Mass. When will the Christ of the New Testament be visible?

Posted Monday, April 16, 2012 5:33 PM By Jim
So, is the Archbishop going to present this in his report to the Pope?

Posted Monday, April 16, 2012 7:36 PM By Laurette Elsberry
Gosh, I hope the Sacramento Diocese Catholic school administrators don’t see this article. They may decide to bring “Secrets” back to Sacramento. I can still the newspaper article photo now: In a Kaiser Hospital “Secrets” presentation at Bishop Manogue High School (now closed), a teen girl uses a banana to show her boyfriend the proper way to use a condom. This was in February of 1990. “Secrets” is still around, still spreading its poison in Catholic Schools, with the assistance of Kaiser Hospital, one of the major abortion promoters and providers in California, including providing abortions to minors’ behind their parents’ backs.

Posted Monday, April 16, 2012 8:11 PM By cjo
AND THE DRUM BEAT GOES ON AND ON….BISHOPS MISSING IN ACTION. TIME FOR THE LAITY TO GET OFF THE COUCH AND GET ACTIVE TO STOP THESE ABOMINATIONS.

Posted Monday, April 16, 2012 8:26 PM By Abeca Christian
and they wonder why kids are screwed up!

Posted Tuesday, April 17, 2012 5:52 AM By JudeThom
Adopt a more loving approach to the subject of teenage sex. Teenagers have sex–even Traditional Catholic teens–teens live in a world their parents do not see despite strict upbringing, rules, and family prayer. It has always been this way. I say devote less energy on condoms and devote more energy to fixing the limp Protestant Novus Ordo Mass, which is the real culprit here–change the Liturgy and you change everything (Benedict). So, get rid of the lay ministers, communion in hand, and rebuild wrecked altar areas, and then come back and we’ll talk about condoms. But FIX the Church where it has been hurt the most first!

Posted Tuesday, April 17, 2012 8:10 AM By Dan
DMR, you say abstinence is being taught as a priority in health classes across the country? That is certainly news to me. I don’t think Planned Parenthood would agree with you. And you think access to condoms and other means of artificial contraception has anything to do with reducing STDS and pregnancy? That is also news. The ready availability of condoms is an invitation to promiscuity, and promiscuity by nature and self-control are unalterably at odds with each other. It is no wonder then, that as contraceptives multiply, so do STDS and abortions. See Kristen’s question which ends her inspired post (Monday 1:51 p.m.)