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(Fr. Michael P. Orsi) — I recently spent time visiting with my sister and her family. An unexpectedly revealing aspect of my sojourn in New Jersey was watching television (I don’t have much time for TV when I’m at home in Florida).

It was June, which nowadays we all know as Pride Month. So nearly every channel I tuned into was awash in glowing accounts of sexually conflicted individuals overcoming their personal torments and achieving gender authenticity. Of course, there was ample coverage of drag queens and the colorful goings-on at pride parades around the country.

The Lifetime Channel, the Disney Channel, even the Hallmark Channel (usually known for heart-warming tales of blonde, blue-eyed, big-city girls finding fulfillment and true love in small-town America) — all participated in this great carnal frolic.

These programs were a reflection of the path we’ve taken as a society over the last few years.

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Not very long ago there was general, if not entirely unanimous, agreement that certain sexual practices (and their advocacy) were sinful and should be condemned. But then a major shift in thinking took place. We began to tolerate other people’s sins, as long as they didn’t touch us or our families directly.

From there we moved on to the outlook that sins shouldn’t always necessarily be considered sins, because they can be explained by someone’s feelings and experiences. It’s circumstance that determines sin, rather than any sort of consistent standard of right and wrong. In this way we legitimized sin.

Now we’ve reached the point where we’re actively celebrating sin, as demonstrated by the TV shows I viewed in my sister’s living room. And given the current “cancel-culture” atmosphere, if you don’t take part in the celebration you’re dismissed as a bigot.

Being a priest, I don’t face the concerns of raising children. But it’s clear to me that guiding kids through the sexual chaos of our time is a formidable challenge. How do you give them a Christian worldview? How do you fortify them in virtue, when everything around them argues that what had always been considered sinful is really wonderful?

Some parents try to shield their children as much as possible from worldly influences. For one thing, they limit access to social media. This is always wise, since Tik-Tok and other networks are cesspools filled with things young people should never see.

Other parents are taking their children out of public school. That can be a good move, too, since in many communities (if not most) public education is deeply imbued with gender madness and committed to various forms of secular indoctrination.

However, it’s an expensive option. The costs of private school tuition can place heavy burdens on family budgets, and the more kids, the greater the expense.

A recent Supreme Court ruling offers a glimmer of hope to those searching for education alternatives. The case involved a family living in a remote area of Maine far from a public school. Under the state’s education funding system, the parents could apply for a subsidy to send their kids to a private school located closer.

Objections were raised because this particular school was religious in character. But the Court found that religion could not be a basis for discrimination, and the state must pay.

This ruling has spurred much optimism among those who see private schooling as a better educational option, and it’s not hard to understand why. I would offer a word of caution, however.

In a different case decided in June, the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the dress code of a North Carolina charter school was discriminatory because it required girls to wear skirts. The K-8 school features a classical, “great books”-style curriculum, and emphasizes traditional standards of virtue in the interaction between boys and girls. It even requires students to address teachers as “ma’am” or “sir.”

The decision has been called a “watershed” in state regulation of school dress codes. Written by an Obama-appointed judge named Barbara Keenan, it insists that “the skirts requirement blatantly perpetuates harmful gender stereotypes as part of the public education provided to North Carolina’s young residents.” Most significantly, it held that charter schools are “state actors” subject to state regulation.

Where goes government money goes government control. In certain parts of the country, charter and private schools receiving state funds are already required to meet state curriculum standards. It’s a safe bet that these regulations will only be tightened, and the secularist mindset that dominates public education will increase.

Under this influence, children will be taught “values” — which change with the ideological winds — rather than “virtue,” which is eternal. Certainly there will be no talk about God. And we know where that has brought us.

I advocate a slightly different approach to school funding: tax credits. Parents should be able to deduct educational expenses from their taxes, regardless of where tuition money is spent.

This isn’t the final answer, I realize. It won’t stop those intent on undermining the ability of parents to provide their children with learning environments that aren’t destructive of their faith.

But it erects another obstacle to the ongoing assault on religion and family life. And it may hold for a while.

The wickedness young people are facing today is astounding. I must say I still can’t believe some of the stuff I saw on my sister’s TV in New Jersey. And the people advancing this evil play a “long game.”

We must find every way we can to counter them.

This essay is based on a homily delivered by Father Orsi. Published with permission. 

A priest of the Diocese of Camden, New Jersey, Rev. Michael P.Orsi currently serves as parochial vicar at St. Agnes Parish in Naples, Florida. He is host of “Action for Life TV,” a weekly cable television series devoted to pro-life issues, and his writings appear in numerous publications and online journals. His TV show episodes can be viewed online here.

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