SEX HYGIENE

Greymouth Evening Star, 25 July 1923, Page 7

SEX HYGIENE

CATHOLIC CHURCH MEWS. The 48th annual conference of Catholic loung Mens societies was held at Leeds m May, and among tne many subjects whrcn fell to be discussed was tiiat of sex education. Dr Thomas Colvin, of Glasgow, vicepresident of the Central Council, on tne question of sex problems, said that it was argued that the way to raise the moral tone was to teach people sex hygiene. There could be no more absurd fallacy, he said, and the more people, excluding, of course, priests, doctors, and lawyers, knew about sex questions, the more immoral they became. Sex teaching, especially to young people, was dangerous, for it excited a prurient curiosity that was apt to lead to moral and physical disaster. It was evident that sex teaching as a deterrent to immorality was as useless as it was absurd. The sovereign remedy was to teach every child to flee from an occasion of sin. It was the lack of early and dogmatic moral teaching that was.at the root of our present loose and confused thinking on the sanctity of the marriage bond. The publication of the details of a recent paternity case, he said, was a lasting disgrace to British journalism and an excellent reflex of the immorality of the times. If a man and woman before marriage mutually agreed not to have any children, that union was legalised prostitution. The root cause of the decline of morality all over Europe was the loss of faith by the people in the basic principles of Christianity. If a man had lost his belief in Christianity, the’ only things that would keep him moral were the fear of disease and of being found out by his friends. Other speakers denounced the suggestion that matters relating to the sexes should be taught in elementary schools, but others claimed that young dangers confronting them, people should be warned of the The conference passed a resolution urging all Roman Catholics to pass resolutions demanding that their local members of Parliament should support the Bill now’ before the House of Commons for regulating the publication of reports of cases in the divorce courts.