In 1995 The Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality was published by the Pontifical Council for the Family. To connect the teachings it contained to the parents for whom it was written, the Catholic Parents Program gathered 23 couples in St. Casimir's Church in Endicott, NY on four consecutive Sundays for an hour and a half. While couples and teens provided child-care and activities for 65 children under 12, Father Mark Pasik took 20 minutes to present a portion of Truth and Meaning; parents then divided into small groups to read the segment of the document aloud, without discussion, writing questions on 3x5 cards. After 45 minutes everyone reassembled, and Father answered questions.
Resources were provided to give parents words to say to their young children, to their children at puberty and into adolescence. Parents came to the first session feeling helpless and unprepared to teach their own children about sexuality, and at the end of the session expressed their confidence in knowledge and in resources. Parents unable to attend a week because of First Communion or company shared their regret at missing a session. Tremendous rapport developed among the couples.
In 2000 the Catholic Parents Program repeated the series at the Catholic High School, and invited speakers with particular expertise to present a portion of the Truth and Meaning document. Mother Agnes Donovan.S.V., Superior of the Sisters of Life presented the Learning Stages, Child to Adult. Again, the teachings came alive for the parents. Again, the parents drew strength and confidence from new-found knowledge and from one another.
In 2001, the Catholic Parents Program invited four distinguished teachers, video-taped their presentations, and submitted them to EWTN. The Truth & Meaning videos have aired on EWTN for a five years, and about 800 videos and DVDs have been sold.
The sound-tracks of these tapes are available on CDs, allowing parents to absorb the content of this marvelous teaching ever so easily! And so Life and Hope: A Catholic Parent's Guide to Human Sexuality became a program which can be used in Dioceses for Catholic Schools, for Religious Education, and for individual parents.
