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Second, a simple Safe Environment lesson has been added in the Third Grade to serve as a bridge between the Safe Environment lesson in the First Grade and the Safe Environment lesson in the Fifth Grade. Finally, the Safe Environment lesson designated for High School found in the Diocese of Harrisburg program has been moved to the eighth grade. Given that many of our children will go on to attend public high schools, such a move down one year (from 9th to 8th grade) seems prudent. However, as with all portions of the program, parents are strongly encouraged to review the materials to be presented in the classroom lessons and prayerfully consider if they should "opt-out" their child. Please know that all such decisions will be respected. (An "opt-out" form is included on page 144.)
Introduction
The work of catechesis is the task of forming a disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ. For young people who have been brought to the Lord through baptism in their early years, this means a process of formation that accompanies them as they mature, both physically and spiritually. Programs of catechesis address the nature and demands of the Christian life. We find this special life of discipleship in the teaching of the Church, the sacraments, the moral life, our spiritual life and the wholesome integration of these diverse elements of faith by the person who believes in Christ. One of the key elements of that formation is the proper understanding of how we live out the virtue of chastity.
Formation in Chastity
The virtue of chastity is how we, as disciples, integrate the understanding of our faith and life, most especially in the areas that involve human sexuality. Young people will, at the appropriate times, need to understand the intricacies of the workings of the human body, as well as the moral and spiritual imperatives that flow from the teachings of Christ and a correct understanding of the natural moral law. This program is intended to help meet these needs in keeping with the mind of the Church. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, starting with paragraph 2331, introduces the section that discusses the virtue of chastity under the heading of the Sixth Commandment. Here the text starts with an understanding of human persons by way of their creation as male and female. We are by our very design capable of a unique form of love in the union of husband and wife. The very differences between a man and woman create a natural complementarity between them. Human sexuality is an essential component of the human person. Through the correct understanding and exercise of our sexuality we are able to develop a capacity to love and to generate new life. The Catechism continues with a reflection on the sixth commandment that prohibits adultery and places the teaching of the Decalogue within the context of the additional teachings of our Lord in the Gospels as they relate to the correct understanding of the exercise of human sexuality in thought, word and deed.

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