Catholic Education Service defends ‘homophobic bullying’ document

There's a rather weak article in The Catholic Herald today about the CES scandal. One might even say the publication is being leaned on by the CES?

It says

The Catholic Education Service has defended a controversial booklet on homophobic bullying in Catholic schools.

Linking to CC Father, it also states:

Critics have also suggested that there are similarities in wording in the document to that of materials produced by gay rights groups Stonewall and lgbtyouth Scotland.

Errr no, critics have demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that the document contains exactly the same text as huge swathes of the Stonewall and lgbtyouth Scotland websites! Why would the Catholic Herald state that "critics have suggested.." when anyone could check and establish the facts for themselves on this? Surely it would be good journalism to do so and report the facts?

The article quotes the CES as having made the following statement

“How schools tackle homophobic bullying is something to which Ofsted is now paying specific attention. As such, both schools and dioceses have asked for guidance on this and how can be approached within a Catholic context.”

I do understand Stonewalls' perceived expertise in this area and accept that it is completely understandable that educational establishments are under all kinds of pressure to deal with this in a way that Ofsted find satisfactory. As the government recognises Stonewall as an authority on the issue it would be reasonable to consult with them with regard to content. However the questions remain as to why, taking these factors into account, this document was not a better balanced account of Catholic teaching?

Another important point which must be answered: the CES say they had a 'donation' towards the costs of circulating it. That begs the question, were Stonewall the mystery contributor who financed the distribution to every school in the country?

If the large amount of directly copied Stonewall material was not in fact plagiarised by the result of a collaboration between the CES and Stonewall/lgbtyouth, why didn't Stonewall want to be credited as the source?

These are the questions that any defence of this atrocious document will need to address.