Canada: Alberta bishops statement on HPV vaccination in schools

I have found it interesting to read the statement of the Catholic Bishops of Alberta on the question of a HPV vaccination programme that is being offered in the schools of that province. (On a personal note, the list of Bishops includes one who I met, and spoke to over lunch, when in Quebec at the International Eucharistic Congress.) The programme in Alberta schools parallels closely that now being offered in schools in this country.

It clearly makes two points with regard to Catholic teaching: parents have the first responsibility for making decisions with regard to the welfare of their children, a responsibility prior to that of both the Alberta provincial government and of schools; and that Catholic teaching with regard to chastity outside marriage is part of a framework in which schools and government authorities should address wider questions of human relationships and the meaning of sexuality for young people.

The following paragraph interested me. Whilst it draws the attention of parents to their responsibility for the sexual education of their children, the age range indicated was something I found interesting.

Parents need to promote ongoing dialogue with their pre-teen and teenage offspring about relationships and sexuality. Through teaching, active monitoring of social and other activities, and giving overt guidance regarding appropriate and safe dating relationships, they need to protect their children from counterproductive influences and potential abuse.

I do not agree with this next paragraph from the statement as it is literally written. HPV vaccination may send the message that sexual intercourse is alright provided you are "protected". But a school could also provide the vaccinations in a context that overcomes this difficulty - though most secular schools are probably less likely to be successful in such an attempt than religious schools. However, the Bishops do quite rightly highlight a danger arising from the pogramme, and it might well be the case that the circumstances of schools in Alberta mean that this is serious danger.

Secondly, although school-based immunization delivery systems generally result in high numbers of students completing immunization, a school-based approach to vaccination sends a message that early sexual intercourse is allowed, as long as one uses "protection."

But perhaps most important is the Bishops' recognition of the voluntary nature of the Alberta government programme, and the need for parents to be fully informed of what is involved in giving - or withholding - consent for their girls to receive the vaccine. At the end of the day, it has not asked Catholic schools to decline to co-operate with the Alberta government programme - the message contains no directive; but it has clearly set moral and cultural parameters within which any such co-operation should take place.

And, comparing to the response of the hierarchy in England and Wales, the statement has been issued by the Bishops, not by their education service. The implication is not one for the nature of the teaching itself, but for how the Bishops involved see their ministry of teaching for the faithful.