Veil Complaint-No Response

May 26, 2005

The Pontifical Council for the Family
President Alfonso Lopez Trujillo
Secretary Msgr. Francisco Gil Hellin
Piazza S. Calisto, 16, 00153 Vatican City State , Europe
pcf@family.va

Dear Cardinal Trujillo,

I am writing to you, as president of Veil of Innocence, to request your assistance to Catholic families in the who are being unnecessarily burdened and harassed by several Bishops who are mandating “safe environment programs” in Catholic schools and C.C.D. programs. These programs are the bishops’ response to their self caused scandal. They are of the bishops, for the bishops, and in one case by the bishops. The programs are foisted on parents, volunteers, and worst of all, innocent children. The “Virtus” program even turns the profits of mandated sales back to the bishops and seeks to “minimize” the bishops’ risk. This is clearly a conflict of interest and well as a violation of the laws of subsidiarity and of modesty. The bishops’ actions are a blatant defiance of your very document, “Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality, which itself reflects the warnings of Pope Pius XI in Divini illius magistri (1929) and the Holy Office (1931).That is, the programs are another form of classroom sex education which desensitizes and sexualizes the wee littlest of children and make them easier prey for the predator. We have before us a triple injustice; to children, to their parents and sacramental marriage, and to the Church.

Here let me share with you a letter from the Gasser family. Bob Gasser rgasser@erols.com

Dear Coordinators of Veil of Innocence,

I am thrilled that you are actively engaged in these issues that affect our children. I have both a kindergartener and a 4th grader that attend the St. Bernadette School in Silver Spring, Maryland . I had contacted Mrs. Cantwell, Bishop Farrell and Dr. Weitzel-O’Neil, the superintendent of schools for the ADW. I made it clear that I did not want my children to attend this program. The feedback I got was that the program was mandatory. Unfortunately my 6 year old had a bad experience. The following week after the program, she had nightmares about being taken by a stranger. What really upset me, she said she had a dream that she could not talk about. She had her head in a downward gaze and was very upset. She said, she had a dream about a teacher at St. Bernadette’s opening a Gogurt (yogurt freeze pop) and it exploded and landed on her “private parts”. I tried to interpret it as your uniform you mean? “No Mommy, my private parts. All the children in my dream were laughing at me.” I was absolutely livid. How could they steal the innocence of my child? After that I sat down with the principal and the parish priest with no results. I also wrote an e-mail to Dr. O’Neil and Bishop Farrell.

After you study the enclosed material and reference the web sites, I am sure you will agree that parents need intervention from your office.

Please release a press statement, as well as send a letter to Veil of Innocence, announcing that all children’s classroom safe environment programs introduce children to a world of sexual perversion and danger, and must be avoided. Please say that they contain sexually explicit material which must never be taught in a group setting. Include that the programs are in violation of the law of subsidiarity regarding parents’ rights, and that they contradict the teachings of TMHS, and other Church documents. Please consider assisting families such as the Crusers, the Jensens, (see enclosed) and the Gassers with a grievance process to correct the situation in the Archdiocese of Washington.

In conclusion, although we know there is no validity to the sort of so called national mandates that some bishops claim they are required to observe, it is true that some dioceses such as the Archdiocese of Washington have written in their particular diocesan guidelines the necessity to implement a safe environment program.

Perhaps the PCCF could help them by composing a list of the wonderful safety beliefs inherent in teaching and fostering our holy faith. That would include such ideas as parents stuffing some holy water, holy cards, and rosary beads in their children’s backpacks on the way to school. They should be wearing the scapular and repeating such prayers as the Twenty Third Psalm and the Hail Mary. The children should be dressed in modesty and always realize that their guardian angels are there to “light and guide and rule and guide.” Fear has never been a characteristic of a Christian, for, wherever he is, he is in the hands of God. (Patriarch Sfeir)

If the PCCF proposed such a project, it might allow the bishops to ‘Opt” for that agenda consistent with their priestly vocation.

Also, please note that neither Veil of Innocence, nor parents in general, object to professionals offering to parents a lecture on the ways of predators. However, these topics are so delicate that the communication to children must remain within the safety of the family.

Enclosed in this folder are: 1.Two heart rendering stories of parents in the Archdiocese of Washington regarding “Lures” which cry to you for justice. 2. Bullet Points of Objections to the programs. 3 .A handy summary of church documents regarding purity and the family. 4. Some information regarding the “Lures” program. 5. A few examples from some popular programs. Further references to web sites concerned with these issues.

In advance, I thank you for your assistance and I wish to you that the peace and love of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, be with you always.

Sincerely and with respect,

Alice Ann Grayson
President and Founder of Veil of Innocence