THE archbishop of Glasgow yesterday denounced proposals aimed at improving Scotland's sexual health as a threat to the morality of society.
The draft strategy put forward by the Scottish Executive seeks to reduce unwanted pregnancies and cut incidences of sexually-transmitted disease.
However, Archbishop Mario Conti said the plans were a grave threat to the rights of parents, to the work of Catholic schools and to society's morality. He said the expert group that drew up the proposals had ''paid too much attention to the medical treatment of symptoms and not enough to the spiritual and social causes of the problem''.
Responding ''fearlessly'' to the contents of the strategy, he criticised plans to make abortion services more widely available and to allow school nurses to offer advice about contraception and abortion to pupils without their parents' knowledge.
Speaking as president of the church's commission for doctrine and unity, Archbishop Conti said: ''It is not the role of government to deconstruct human nature, nor contrary to the advice of the sexual health strategy proposal, to address the problem other than in a holistic manner.
''There is a danger that on the basis of this document the executive will address only the medical aspects of the problem and ignore the much more important underlying moral questions. If so we will undoubtedly have a continued rise in the sorry statistic of sexual ill-health in the community,'' he said.
Enhancing Sexual Wellbeing in Scotland: A Sexual Health and Relationships Strategy was produced by an executive expert reference group chaired by Professor Phil Hanlon.
It aims to reduce unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, enhance the provision of sexual health services and promote a broader understanding of sexual health and sexual relationships.
A public consultation on the proposals was launched last year. In the commission's submission, which was made public yesterday, Archbishop Conti said the executive's proposals failed adequately to address the social and moral issues.
''The chief weakness of the proposals to the Scottish Executive is its almost total 'medicalisation' of the problem.
''Marriage is mentioned only once in the 92-page report, and then only as being the appropriate setting for sexual activity 'in the case of some faith groups','' he said.
He added that plans to allow school nurses to offer advice to pupils without telling their parents was ''wrong in principle''.
The archbishop quoted a 60-year-old report by the Medical Advisory Committee (Scotland) which spoke of ''a chaste life being the one real protection against venereal disease''.
He also criticised plans to celebrate homosexual relationships, asking: ''Is every expression of sexuality, even those which are illegal, abusive or unnatural, to be welcomed, indeed celebrated?''
An executive spokeswoman said the comments would be considered before a final strategy was produced. She said they had already received 1000 responses, all of which would be assessed by an independent specialist researcher.
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