News Archive

October 18, 2003.  New England Cable News (NECN) gives forum for proponents of Talking About Touching.  On Friday, October 17, 2003 NECN ran a story on their evening program about Talking About Touching.  It featured local proponents of TAT from the Mass. Children's Trust Fund, as well as a spokesperson from the Committee for Children (makers of TAT).  The story was largely one-sided, giving credence to the program in the typical way---saying that children need protection from sexual abuse---stating the obvious and then avoiding their explicit materials.  NECN did say that some object to the program, but did nothing more to present that viewpoint---not good journalism by NECN.  When the O'Reilly Factor (see below) was planning a segment on TAT, we tried everything to get someone who was in favor of TAT to present their view against Fr. Mullen's but, ironically, those who were on this NECN segment either declined or were unavailable.  Check the NECN website to see if the video of this segment is still available for online viewing---it's worth understanding how this is sold.

October 9, 2003.  Fr. David Mullen to appear on FoxNews' "The O'Reilly Factor" Tonight (Thu) at 8:00pm.  Fr. Mullen is from St. Brendan Parish in Bellingham, MA, and has been a staunch opponent of TAT since it began in the Archdiocese of Boston.  He recently posted some letters he wrote to local bishops about TAT on his web site and encouraged parishioners to write to the archbishop.  Please tune in to the show tonight and pray for Fr. Mullen!

October 6, 2003.  More uncovered about the TAT--COYOTE connection. Mary Jo Anderson, journalist for WorldNet Daily, uncovered some more disconcerting news about the roots of the TAT program and the organization that started it, COYOTE.  COYOTE, an acronym for Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics, is a pro-prostitution group that evolved into Committee for Children, the current distributor of TAT and the organization working with the Archdiocese of Boston to implement it.  Please read Mary Jo Anderson's article to understand more about the disturbing history of TAT.

October 1, 2003.  Concern about Archbishop O'Malley's position on TAT. There have been concerns raised by many that Archbishop O'Malley is in strong support of the TAT program.  [See Dom Bettinelli's blog and a related article on Catholic Citizens]  It's true that the Archbishop has sent a letter to all parishes asking them to implement TAT.  What's unclear is the source of his information about TAT.  As we continue to pursue this cause, we ask all those who are concerned to write to Archbishop O'Malley.  In doing so, please be articulate and respectful.  We will provide another update by the end of next week to let you know where our efforts stand.  Above all, please pray for Archbishop O'Malley and the Archdiocese of Boston, and Christ's Truth will prevail!

August  20, 2003.  Second Meeting with Bishop Malone goes very well! In the first week of August, we met again with Bishop Malone from Boston’s South region.  We again impressed upon him the issues with TAT and illuminated some items which were not addressed or made clear in our first meeting.  One of the salient points centered on the fact that the TAT curriculum never went through the proper channels to be approved for use in archdiocesan schools.  Because of the way the scandal moved and the pressures involved, this program did not undergo the usual theological review, which is a scrupulous process intended to screen out such secular programs.  It’s highly unlikely this program would have ever hit the classrooms had it done so!  True to his word, Bishop Malone carried this concern to a meeting the following week with Archbishop O’Malley and the six regional bishops.  It was discussed briefly (among many agenda items) and, overall, was met with receptivity.  Our next goal is to meet with directly with Archbishop O’Malley, and Bishop Malone is working with us to accomplish that.  We know school is starting soon, and our realistic hope is that the TAT curriculum, if not removed altogether, will be scaled back to remove all the graphic, objectionable content, and then a new curriculum will replace it for next year.

July 9, 2003.  Transition to New Bishop leaves us hopeful but delayed.  We believe we have reason for hope with Bishop O'Malley starting as Boston's new archbishop at the end of July.  Everything we've heard about him is very positive and we expect he will be receptive to our concerns about TAT.  On the flip side, the transition has slowed our progress.  We were going to meet with Bishop Lennon, but now must wait to proceed with Bishop O'Malley.  At this point, we have not rescheduled our Parents meeting that was cancelled on June 22.  We're considering our options in light of Bishop O'Malley's arrival, and will post an announcement when any decision is made.

June 23, 2003.  Opting out of TAT has been reinstated! About two months after making the TAT program mandatory for all children in Catholic schools, the Archdiocese of Boston has reversed its decision and will now permit parents to withhold their children from attending.  The notice came verbally from several sources last week, and then in writing via a memo to principals and pastors from the Office for Child Advocacy Director, Deacon Anthony Rizzuto.  We're grateful for this decision.  It's moving in the right direction of our goal, which is to replace the TAT program completely.

June 16, 2003.  The right to opt out of TAT may be near!  We heard from media reports over the past month that the Archdiocese of Boston may be re-considering the decision to opt out of the Talking About Touching program.  We now have it from a very reliable source that this is almost certain.  We're working to get final confirmation on this and will post it when we do.

May 21, 2003  Working on meeting with Bishop Lennon. Contrary to the recent Boston Globe article that said we may possibly be meeting with Bishop Lennon within a week, we are pursuing this avenue but not on that timetable.  We're gathering our information and speaking with other bishops and/or priests to get advisement in our pursuit.

May 17, 2003  Media coverage spikes. Over the past week we drew extensive media attention about our cause, including coverage by Fox 25 News, WRKO's Pat Whitley Show, and articles by the Associated Press, Boston Globe, The Wanderer, The Pilot, and Catholic Exchange (by Deal Hudson).  This media coverage served the purpose of helping educate parents about the content of the TAT program.  We did not request any of this coverage, it mostly arose from Deal Hudson's article.