An editorial in yesterday’s student run Georgetown Voice responded to a single study which claimed that abstinence-only education hasn’t had the desired effect.

The editorial board therefore decided that Georgetown University should abandon 2,000 years of Catholic theological study, distribute condoms, encourage teen sex, and support abortion rights. Makes sense, right?

The poor dears complain that condoms are still not available on campus and use this as proof that the school administration is not actually pro-life. Got it. Condoms mean pro-life.

They write:

“An institution that is pro-life both before and after birth should care about health and preventing unintentional pregnancies. While it’s an oft-sung song on campus, the fact is Georgetown should be encouraging safe sex, not no sex.”

They then uncomprehendingly revile the Supreme Court’s ruling to uphold the ban on partial birth abortion.

“While abortion should not be celebrated, riding the slippery slope to illegalize it robs women of the freedom to make choices about their own bodies. A real anti-abortion policy would eliminate the need for them in the first place, with real sex education and contraception.”

This editorial should not be laughed off or seen as an anomaly. This is a clear indication that we are failing to get the message of Catholicism to our children. These students have not been informed at all about the wonderful and beautiful theology of sex and faith. At some level this is the fault of Georgetown University but also the Church as a whole.

The Church’s teachings in Humanae Vitae affirm a vocation to sexual love which contains essential truths for human happiness that spreads love, not self gratification. It is the difference between self-giving and self assertion, as Pope John Paul II said. It is the difference between Catholicism and utilitarianism, of which these students seem sadly ignorant.