The Papiloma virus and the religious education in our schools

1. Entity type Lemma
2. Original titleVirusul Papiloma si educatia religioasa din scolile noastre
3. Language term Romanian
4. lemma author Stavinschi, Alexandra
5. lemma category Ethics - Scientific theories and disciplines > Medicine - Education, Science and Orthodoxy
6. lemma work Raduca, Vasile [Author]. The Papiloma virus and the religious education in our schools
7. lemma manifestations Ziarul Lumina
8. Keywords Sexuality - HPV virus - medicine - Religious education
9. Url Click Here
10. Lemma body

    1. The article deals with a vital topic in today’s society, namely the presence of a virus that can be kept at bay thanks to the latest developments of science. Against the HPV virus, which is particularly dangerous insofar it is carcinogenic, especially for women, there is a vaccine. There was an important campaign in schools aimed at making it available to young girls. Parents, who are understandably very concerned, seek advice both from medics and priests. It is worth noting that the article was published in a journal that is available to a large audience of non-specialists.

       The author comments on this campaign and gives his point of view on the topic. He obviously reminds of the teachings of the church on chastity, which is a perfect antidote, suggesting that no vaccine can therefore be needed, and dismissing other solutions. He is very judgmental towards the parents who choose the vaccine for their daughters, labelling them as either "ignorant”, or classifying them in the category of those who did not seriously consider faithfulness in their sexual life or do not trust their children. These harsh labels are allegedly based on his statistics, established using "our own specific methods” (he fails to specify which ones).

       His conclusion is that children should be spared the information related to this problem. These are all very dangerous affirmations, given the social impact of the publication and the influence it may have on both parents and children alike. The underlying assumption is that man (or woman) are immune from sin, and clearly underestimates the dangers to which teenagers and adults are exposed. It also assumes that parents have control over their children’s life – ignorning the peer pressure and minimizing the risk of abuse to which girls are exposed.

       The author seems to link the virus to the sinful search for sexual pleasure. One of the headings is entitled "HPV – the disease of dissolute girls”, which again seems to deliberately ignore that naive and uninformed women, let alone women who are truly in love, are the easiest pray of less scrupulous men, and that not even the blessing of the marriage can avoid the risks of getting infected. Of course complete chastity on both parts from their birth is the perfect antidote and should always be promoted, but what the author fails to consider is that neither parents nor spouses can be sure that someone else has and will always be immune from sin. This sounds like arrogance or, at best, wishful thinking, and fails to ensure the health protection that is the aim of both priests and medics, as Raduca has emphasized in other articles.

       He turns then to the possible medical side-effects, which is a much more sensible concern, but from the tone of the article the reader has the feeling that it is only used to support his own thesis. The author advocates teaching religion in schools, but is against children being informed about these medical risks, although he states clearly that they live in a world where the erotic aggression is undeniable. However, he believes that it is the scientific information that may trigger behavioural deviations.

       The article is deeply disturbing also because it ignores that some of the greatest saints were prostitutes before their conversion, and because it does not take into account that all women must be protected by both medicine and religion and ultimately must be given the chance to live and find redemption.