Parents, first teachers on human sexuality
June 24, 2018
Not only faith…
June 28, 2018

Sex, sexuality not simply ‘yes’ and ‘no’*

“Interactive”, “entertaining”, “informative” were words used by young adults who attended the ‘Let’s Talk About Sex Seminar’ on Friday, May 11. Around 70 young adults gathered at Our Lady of Fatima RC Church, Curepe to talk about this taboo, contentious, yet important topic.

They listened to a panel of speakers including Fr Matthew Ragbir, Jerome Alexander, Suzy and Damian de Verteuil with Brother Collin Jackson as the moderator for the night. The young adults appreciated Fr Ragbir’s explanation that answers about sex and sexuality are not as simple as ‘yes’ and ‘no’.

This encouraged those present to do more listening as a result. Instead of presentations and then a Q& A Session, hosts the Archdiocesan Family Life Commission (AFLC) and the Billings Ovulation Method Association of Trinidad & Tobago (BOMA-TT) arranged the night to be solely Q&A with very few presentations, as Pope Francis has stressed that young people need to be listened to more rather than be given doctrine after doctrine without hearing their concerns. Fr Matthew and the rest of the panel attempted to “foster openness to the message” of God’s plan for human sexuality through “approachability, readiness for dialogue, patience, a warmth and welcome which is non-judgemental”, the apostolic exhortation of Pope Francis in Evangelii Gaudium (165).

Pope Francis tells us in this same passage to “express God’s saving love which precedes any moral and religious obligation on our part; it should not impose the truth but appeal to freedom; it should be marked by joy, encouragement, liveliness and a harmonious balance which will not reduce preaching to a few doctrines which are at times more philosophical than evangelical.” All of these were attempted in our one night of talk on sex and what is really God’s plan for all of us. The young people appreciated that there was more than one person to answer questions. Some particularly mentioned Damian and Suzy de Verteuil. Suzy’s clear and real answers and Damian’s smile and warmth were welcome. One participant’s feedback was “the seminar was amazing”. – AFLC