Vatican Tells UN to Respect Parents and Homeschooling

As some totalitarian-minded governments escalate their attacks on parental rights and homeschooling, the Vatican’s delegation to the United Nations called on the world to respect families, the rights of parents to direct the upbringing of their children, and non-governmental forms of education. The Holy See’s representatives also called on governments last week to stop indoctrinating the youth.

Noting that there are around 250,000 Catholic schools around the globe, the Church’s permanent observer mission to the UN said its religious educational institutions are there to help. Parents, meanwhile, “have the right and duty to choose schools inclusive of homeschooling, and they must possess the freedom to do so, which in turn, must be respected and facilitated by the State.”

Analysts heralded the strongly worded diplomatic statement to the UN as a “significant victory” for parental rights worldwide. Of course, there are well over 1 billion Catholics in the world today — about 20 percent of humanity — so when the Holy See says something, people and governments tend to listen. And those on the front lines of the battle for educational freedom celebrated the news.

“That’s huge,” media relations director Jeremiah Lorrig with the U.S.-based Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) told LifeSiteNews.com. “Having the support of the Vatican ambassador would invaluable to the homeschool movement.”

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Kenneth

And just what business is it of the UN just how Catholics, or any other religious denomination, teach their children? Why do they have justify or get the approval of the UN on anything? It is time to rear up on our hind legs and swat the UN down in our country.
- Chris
  
  Because the Catholics are overpopulating the planet – that's why. They are stealing your resources so you have less.
  
  You complain because liberals do nothing but here they are trying to protect you.
  
  Duh.
  - Deep_Thinker
    
    It's time we start respecting property rights, whether it be top-down mandates or "protection". It's up to an individual to protect themselves, not some liberal elite.
    - keyboardshark
      
      Yes, we have had it up to here with the liberal elites and their wonderful 'solutions'. The whole premise of liberalism is that you, the individual, are not smart enough to know how to run your own life, so we, the much more enlightened and (of course) much more intelligent liberal elites, will force you to do it our way, because we know best.
      - Chris
        
        You aren't smart enough to figure out that there are no gods. You aren't smart enough to figure out global warming and you aren't smart enough to figure out evolution.
        
        You clowns drink high fructose corn syrup because BIG BUSINESS says it's good for you – you twerps believe them.
        
        You don't know best because libertarianism does not work.
      - keyboardshark
        
        Chris says: "You aren't smart enough to figure out…" "You aren't smart enough to figure out…" "You aren't smart enough to figure out…."
        
        Your reply proves my point exactly–that the liberal elite believes they are smarter than everyone else, and needs to tell us poor nincompoops, the hoi polloi, what to do. We are sooooo fortunate that we have you liberal elites to tell us all what to do and what to believe, otherwise we might do something sensible or believe the Bible is true or make a politically incorrect choice or display moral character. Ah yes, the nanny state in all its glory, womb to tomb…
        
        You want to force us to believe there is no God, when the evidence He exists is all around you. You also want us to blindly believe that evolution (a speculation about something that supposedly happened in the past and is not happening now) and man-made global warming catastrophism (a speculation about something that will supposedly happen in the future, but isn't happening now) are both true.
        
        Never mind that there is no way to test nor prove whether evolution or global warming are true or not, nor is there any way to prove there is no God. Yet we poor ignoramuses are just supposed to take your word for it that these things are true. Wow, that's such a relief! I don't have to think for myself any more! I'm, ahem, free!
        
        BTW, I gave up high fructose corn syrup years ago because of independent studies that showed it was harmful. Then why is it being used so widely? Because of "big business", as you say? No, because of your god, government:
        
        "In the U.S., HFCS is among the sweeteners that have primarily replaced sucrose (table sugar) in the food industry. Factors for this include governmental production quotas of domestic sugar, subsidies of U.S. corn, and an import tariff on foreign sugar; all of which combine to raise the price of sucrose to levels above those of the rest of the world, making HFCS less costly for many sweetener applications."
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-fructose_corn_…
        
        Chris also says: "You don't know best because libertarianism does not work." And your proof for this is……?
        
        I haven't exactly seen any roaring success stories for liberalism, other than the success of the liberal elite leaders that are milking the citizens for all they're worth.
      - Evermyrtle
        
        If evolution is true, we should still be evolving. Why should it not be so?. And if that is true why don't we have all stages of the last evolving creatures, in which monkeys and apes evolving into man. I mean, all the people, and that means thousands and everyone fully human, no halfway stages of monkey/man. If the evolving stopped in some certain age. when was that time.
        
        We have GOD'S WORD about HIS creation and all the different ages, between then and now there should be some records. There is nothing like that in the Bible so where does this idea come from?
        Therefor if it is true there should be proof somewhere!!!.
      - keyboardshark
        
        You are right Evermyrtle, there is no hard evidence for evolution, otherwise known as macro evolution. We do observe natural selection (micro evolution) in the present, but this is merely a re-shuffling of existing genetic information, not creation of new genetic information which would be required if evolution were true.
        
        Fossils tell us nothing about the origin of the creature whose remains we are observing. Similarities between different creatures does not prove descent. Similar creatures have similar designs because they have a common Designer–God.
      - Nancy Sternberg
        
        Don't waste your time answering this clown.
      - Evermyrtle
        
        There are many gods or idols, there is only one true GOD and believe hie is real. You will come face to face after you leave this world, for good. It will be tool late then to change your mind.
      - http://conservativebyte.com Michael G.
        
        I agree. This guy above is going to get 'blind-sided' by what's coming.
  - Evermyrtle
    
    They have just as much right to "populate" as you do.
  - JoJo
    
    If any religion is overpopulating the planet and stealing our resources, it's the muslims.
  - myth buster
    
    No, you just hate humanity. First of all, there is no such thing as overpopulation, and second of all, even if there were, it is not Catholics we have too many of, but rather misanthropes who want to sterilize and/or kill people who disagree with them.
  - Robert De Leon
    
    Chrus:
    I thought you were an intelligent person. You are not.
    Duh
    Robert.
aceituna

There is truth to both what Kenneth said, and also for the Vatican to support the right of parents to choose the type education there children get. The UN has no right to mandate that countries support these rights, but getting the people in the UN to agree and suggest that such rights shoud be respected is a step in the right direction.
- daves
  
  The U.N. is not dictating, they offering assistance. I haven't quite figured out from this article what the U.N. is doing that the Vatican doesn't like.
  
  "But it should be the other way around, the Vatican explained to the UN gathering in New York last Tuesday. “In this regard it is important that the natural and thus essential relationship between parents and their children be affirmed and supported, not undermined,” the statement read. "
  
  It sounds like they want the U.N. to issue a statement or something.
  - Evermyrtle
    
    You can accept the assistance of the UN if you want to, and fall into a never return. state. The UN is the end of the road.
    It is the GREATEST ANTI-GOD FORCE OF THE WORLD.
    - daves
      
      Because they try to help people? What has the U.N. done that angers you so much?
      - myth buster
        
        I wouldn't call what the UN does "help." UN "peacekeepers" commit atrocities and no one cares. Dictators commit atrocities, and the UN looks the other way, but they are quick to condemn the Israelis for defending themselves.
Buck

The Vatican needs to tell the public there are NO Christians in the United Nations , just athiests and liars .
- Chris
  
  Why would you trust the Pope?
Chris

The Vatican needs to butt out and stop indoctrinating kids in what is essentially child abuse – feeding children made up rubbish to support the church's agenda.
- Robert De Leon
  
  Ha, ha, ha
  You are so funny but not so intelligent.
  Robert.
Anita

We need to send people to Washington that will eliminate the UN. Hitlery and Odumbo are doing everything they can to have the UN take complete control over America and Americans. People wake up. I say we take all of our money, equipment, and personnel and go home. Kick the sorry UN's but out of New York. Then I don't care what they say all of the communist crap Odumbo and Hitlery has been secretly making with the UN should be null and void.
- JoJo
  
  Yes, and we should also tell the UN to relocate to Paris since the French dig socialism.
Nancy Sternberg

As a Baptist I have some issues with the Catholic form of worship, for example praying to Mary and their belief that Mary was given special powers. At the same time I thank the Catholic people for their standing for life and traditional family values.
Buck

Surely the Catholic church realizes that the United Nations is an ungodly organization under the control of Satan and the dark side and so are totally unconcerned with what the Catholic church or any religios entity desires or expects ?
- MEG
  
  You are so right!
Bud

Hooray for the Vatican putting the UN in its place!
MEG

The UN is a worthless organization! Tell me what, if anything good have they done lately. They certainly need to clean up their own act re Human Rights and other issues in countries where freedom of religion is denied! People who are falsely imprisoned…..especially China, North Korea and Middle eastern countries like IRAN! Home Schooling is not their worry or business!