Pope John Paul II in the cited Exhortation on the role of the family make this abundantly clear when he states in paragraph #36: "The right and duty of parents to give education is essential, since it is connected with the transmission of human life; it is original and primary with regard to the educational role of others, on account of the uniqueness of the loving relationship between parents and children; it is irreplaceable and inalienable, and therefore incapable of being entirely delegated to others or usurpedby others."
The parental right to bring up their own children is inalienable because it is given to them by God. Note that this exactly matches the language used in the Declaration of Independence, the preamble to our Constitution:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Note that the phrasing indicates that there are other well-known "inalienable rights," which certainly include the right to bring up one's own children.
“Note that the phrasing indicates that there are other well-known “inalienable rights,” which certainly include the right to bring up one’s own children.”
It’s pretty scary how these rights are slowly being vested in the state as opposed to parents. I’m amazed there isn’t more outcry.
And they were Virginia Baptists (pre-dating denominational-type Baptists; they were all autonomous and independent, then) who got and kept Madison’s ear during the writing of the Constitution, who were principal in the insistence upon a Bill of Rights. No state has the prerogative to educate my children; that duty was given to me by God.