The Montreal Priest wants his parents to learn his Catholic manual on sexuality

The director of the liturgical pastoral services for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese in Montreal wants the parents to prevent their children from going to new sex classes in Quebec and learning from the manual that he has written instead.

Fr. Robert Gendreau wrote the book with dr. Raouf Ayas, a Cardiologist from Montreal. The book is sold at Amazon.ca for just under $ 10.

Gendreau says the goal is to teach sex education from a Catholic perspective, but the Montreal social worker is concerned that children taken from the Quebec Ministry of Education program may miss some important tools to prevent sexual assault.

In a statement sent by e-mail, the Quebec Ministry of Education says that students can not be excluded from classes.

"The only ones that will be exempted will be extraordinary and special reasons, for example, for students who have suffered serious trauma," said a spokeswoman for the ministry.

"We believe sexual education is essential for the healthy development of a child."

The current program was approved by several experts, the ministry said, and 86 percent of respondents said they were content with the content.

She does not even mention marriage

At CBC Montreal Trip On Wednesday, Gendreau was asked what aspects of the Quebec Ministry's program he considered to be a cause for concern.

"No word on the marriage – nothing about the marriage of the marriage, nothing about prayer," he said.

Gendreau also raised the issue of gender.

"I very much remember that they are trying to convey things about sex, OK?" Gendreau said, although he did not explain what he meant by this.

"Is God ready for this? The child will surely say," No, "and the parent will say:" You are right. "And this is happening in our society, and they can talk about it, but not [if they are] to push as something that is acceptable. "

Prevention of sexual assault

Laura El-Hachem, a social worker and psychotherapist with the Marie-Vincent Foundation, the Child Care Center in Montreal, says that teaching about gender equality is an important and essential part of the Quebec program.

"To tell them that regardless of whether you are a boy or a girl, you can play with a ball, you can play with a doll – sounds simple, but we know that these are the basics for preventing sexual intercourse. … unhealthy relationships in the long run, "she said.

One in five girls and one in ten boys under the age of 18, according to El-Hachem, a sexual assault occurs.

She says that this is one of the reasons why children must learn to respect borders and personal space early.

Another important part of the program teaches them the right words for their anatomical parts, she says.

"There are so many children who reveal and use the wrong words, and people do not understand what they mean. So the message they receive is that even when they say people do not hear [them]"El-Hachem said."

Church history of abuse

El-Hachem says it's important for adults who teach sex education to do it in an impartial way.

"To work in a lonely way and thinking that we have all the answers on our own, I do not think this is the right way," she said.

Asked why the Catholic Church should advise parents about sex education, Gendreau said that this was the case in the past.

"If they agree with this, and only condemn the Church and priests, this is their position," he said. Trip.

The position of the archdiocese is unclear

On Wednesday, the Montreal Archdiocese sent a press release on the book written by Gendreau and Ayas. Parent / Parent's Education and Training Division dealing with the Education for Sexual Education program at the Ministry of Education and Training, which deals with professional knowledge and skills.

On Thursday, the archbishop said she did not support the publication.

Archbishop did not immediately respond to CBC's request to comment on whether it supports Gendreau's proposal that Catholic parents prevent their children from attending sex education courses.