The following statement was issued regarding the Fairfax County School Board’s vote on its Family Life Education (FLE) curriculum.
While I am pleased that the Fairfax County School Board has voted to retain clergy among the list of people our youth ought to consider trusted adults, I am nevertheless disappointed to see the board has chosen ideology over biology in introducing such terms as “sex assigned at birth” in place of “biological sex” in the schools’ Family Life Education (FLE) curriculum. It is also distressing to see students receiving information about the drug regimen PrEP (Pre-exposure prophylaxis) while at the same time not learning that abstinence is the only 100 percent effective way of preventing the transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). As a community committed to proclaiming the truth about human life, dignity and sexuality, the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Arlington will continue its efforts to educate the public regarding the content of the FLE curriculum and encourage parents to exercise their God-given right to “opt-out” their children from those lessons that distort the truth and are morally offensive.
Bishop Michael F. Burbidge
Catholic Diocese of Arlington