‘We are in this together’: Recent Supreme Court rulings support parents in their vocation

Three recent decisions by the Supreme Court of the United States reflect the need to protect children when it comes to issues of human sexuality, now more than ever.

We are all keenly aware of the reality of the secular world and the pervasive distortion of human sexuality, but it is also encouraging to know that despite these contemporary circumstances, there are legal efforts to push back and that should be encouraging news to families.

From laws protecting children from medical interventions that accompany gender dysphoria and encourage bodily mutilation to fit those distortions, to age verification requirements on pornographic websites, to schools denying parents the right to opt their children out of “LGBTQ story time,” the Supreme Court has encountered the downstream effects of our present culture, which has distorted the truth of human sexuality.

There are many more examples, of course, but the fact that the court addressed three cases that touch upon human sexuality during this most recent term indicates that, for parents, these challenges are a lived reality as they raise their children.

As Bishop Kevin Rhoades, chairman of our bishops’ Committee on Religious Liberty, commented in response to the decision in the case of parental rights in education, “parents do not forfeit their rights as primary educators of children when they send their kids to public schools.”

This right is especially true when it comes to matters that touch on faith and morals, such as human sexuality. These are priorities which we bishops take seriously as we commit ourselves to the truly American notions of proper religious liberty for all, and for the right of families to choose effective schools that best serve their children’s needs.

And in the case of requiring pornographic websites to implement age-verification measures to protect children, the court’s decision is a welcome step in the effort to help parents safeguard young minds from the scourge of pornography in today’s digital age.

We must all pay urgent attention to the use of artificial intelligence to produce and disseminate an epidemic of sexual exploitation through “deepfakes” and “virtual child pornography.” By itself, pornography destroys families, harms vulnerable individuals and perpetuates the trafficking and exploitation of countless persons.

As we face exposure to social media and other digital platforms at earlier ages than ever before, Catholic families are called to come together to form healthy habits for young people and lead them toward a culture of encounter in the body of Christ, the church.

We bishops recently issued an updated pastoral letter addressing the scourge of pornography, “Create in Me a Pure Heart: A Pastoral Response to Pornography.” A document like this guides the wider church’s efforts to raise awareness of the issue and help those addicted to pornography, and our social justice efforts to bring a complete end to human trafficking of youth and adults.

The court’s final decision of import credited the sound reasons for preventing children from undergoing irreversible, life-altering procedures when they reject their God-given bodies.

We can only imagine the heartbreak and anguish that parents live through as they help their child with gender dysphoria to grow to accept their bodies, but that undertaking is of vital importance as a parent.

Whether it is the protective and formative role of parents, or the proper understanding of how God created each of us with a sexual reality, these decisions of the Supreme Court are to be applauded not because they reflect some partisan political perspective, but because they reflect the best fundamental principles of our American Constitution and our freedoms therein.

It is fitting that two of these court decisions were released on the feast day of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, in which we’re all called to draw our own hearts closer to Him, praying for ourselves, our families, and the whole of society, “Create a pure heart for me, O God; renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Ps 51:10).

We must not rely solely on the judicial system as a fix for what ails our culture, but we should be encouraged that the court recently acknowledged the need for parameters. As Christian faithful, we have a duty to uphold the common good and speak up when the opposite is perpetuated in society.

As Catholic bishops, we remain committed to supporting parents in their vocation to raise their children in the faith that upholds the church’s teaching on marriage, family life, sexuality and the vocation to chastity.

At the parish level, this means the church should support parents in their vocation to raise their children in the faith through strong, viable parish and diocesan youth ministry programs and lay ecclesial movements of the church which partner with and accompany parents to carry out the church’s mission of evangelization. We are in this together.

Bishop Robert E. Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, is chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth.