Coward sends it home with kids.
Cult.WHITBY -- Parents with children at a couple of Brooklin Catholic schools are still fuming over a letter sent home from their parish priest, while the Father himself has tackled the issue on the church website.
The letter dated Lent 2013, a call to return to Catholic practices, included a two-page "examination of conscience" and invitation to reflect on sins before going to confession.
From Rev. Charles Forget, pastor of Saint Leo the Great Catholic Church in Brooklin, the letter was sent home with students at St. Bridget and St. Leo Catholic schools.
Sins included "Have I committed adultery or fornication?," "Have I become intoxicated?" and "Have I denied my spouse his or her marriage rights?"
"It was in my youngest son's agenda. He's seven," said St. Leo mother Audrey Cowie.
"He didn't open it, but it wasn't sealed."
While most parents who contacted Whitby This Week after the paper put out the request for comments also say the letters weren't sealed, the Durham Catholic District School Board and Father Forget maintain they were.
One person sent an e-mail in support of the letter, and another called and said he and a group of 10 to 20 parents were not offended by the letter. Twelve called or left e-mails indicating they were not pleased, most wishing to remain anonymous, one calling it "condescending and negative."
One St. Bridget mother, whose son saw the letter, came home and asked about masturbation.
"It's crazy. I mean we're not back in the 1920s," said Ms. Cowie. "I'm just disgusted about the whole thing."
Nearly all could understand Father Forget's intentions to encourage parents to attend Mass, but disagreed with the letter coming home with the kids.
Another mother wishing to remain anonymous said "he chose to approach the matter in a very condescending and negative manner, and I feel he crossed the line."