Governors back AIDS video

THE GOVERNORS of a Catholic school in Middlesex have granted permission for the controversial government video on AIDS to be shown to senior pupils.
St Mark's in Hounslow screened the video on Wednesday evening to an audience of students and parents. The screening was accompanied by a talk given by the school's Head of Religious Education, who put the video in the context of the the Church's teaching on personal relationships.
The headmaster of St Mark's, Mr Sheath, told the Catholic Herald: "Before the governors decided to show the video, the priests of the deanery all had a look at it. It come with a very good booklet which has a strong moral influence. The film is really a warning against the dangers of casual sex and promiscuity, but some of it is explicit".
There was some debate about whether the 25-minute video should be shown to students in the school's fourth year, but it was eventually agreed that they should see it in its entirety. Mr Sheath continued: "The last part of the video clearly demonstrates how a condom is rolled over an erect penis, and how it is taken off afterwards. Viewers are left in no doubt about the proper way to use them".
Mr Sheath insisted that the school was not condoning artificial contraception and stressed that the film would be used to point out that there are safeguards against AIDS.