In educating children about human sexuality, the adult society especially parents should get in the game, a top churchman said.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila stressed the need for parents to recognize that they are the most significant teachers for their children.
“There is a need to face the truth of our times: the perception on the so-called sexuality,” Tagle said.
He was responding to a comment on the rising incidence of teenage pregnancy in the country during a “dialogue with the youth” at the Sta. Cruz Church on Sunday.
The cardinal also noted the impact of media on how young people think and how they respond to the sexualities of those around them.
“Now, sexuality is out in the open… and children do not fully understand the holistic issue of sexuality, that it is not just a physical need but that it has its consequences,” Tagle said.
“The problem is it is not complemented by education. Children are exposed to these things and imitate them, but they lack the necessary guidance,” he lamented.
He noted that some parents rely on teachers or catechists to educate their children. But at the end of the day, he said that parental duty to influence a child’s upbringing in a positive way cannot just be abdicated.
The cardinal also stressed that a harmonious family environment can positively affect their children’s future as well.
“The parents play a key role in teaching our children the right behavior and values. If not, we may ask other relatives, like grandparents, uncles, aunts to help guide our children,” he added.
The dialogue was in line with the archdiocese’s celebration of the Year of the Youth and was held before Tagle celebrated mass on the Solemnity of the Corpus Christi.
