Earlier this week the news of the Duke of Edinburgh deciding to step away from his public duties at the age of 96, made big headlines. One commentator said that on a personal level the Duke would really be baffled by all the fuss over it. After all he is 96! But more than that; there was one quote recalled about the Duke which really struck a chord with me.

He has said that his role in public life was quite simple; “to support and help others be better at what they do best.” I rather like that phrase. It has a down to earth feel about it and in once sense sums up and describes what I have been trying to do with this weekly blog since October 2014 just prior to the first synod on the family; i.e, I have in some small way been trying to encourage, edify and boost the confidence and faith and spirituality of mainly parents but others too in understanding better but also fulfilling their God-given duties at being the primary educator and protector of their children.
This daily battle to keep one’s hearth and home together morally, spiritually and materially gets increasingly harder and [sad to say] unsupported [practically-speaking] by the bureaucratic church. There is hardly a week goes by when I don’t get an email or call or message from someone anxious about ‘gender theory’ and or “transgender” rights etc. It does appear to be a minefield. And apart from one or two quite helpful statements from the Pope about “ideological colonisation” of our children and denouncing experiemental educational programmes that treat children like “guinea pigs” there isn’t much practical guidance for parents on this in relation to their own children or what they might be exposed to in society and even at school. Thankfully there is a really excellent and well researched website [totally set up devised and managed by parents] that I highly recommend as the go to place on this burning issue. The website is     https://www.transgendertrend.com/ The people behind the website have no religious affiliation whatsoever. They only deal in facts and want the facts to speak for themselves. Being factual is what most parents are best at when it comes to the overall well being of their children. This site will help them be better I hope. Their raison d’etre is clear
  “We wanted to create a site which balanced that view with some research and facts which challenge the prevailing acceptance of an ideology which is new, untested, and invariably based on personal belief systems.”