Children who are involved in BBBSA programs are primarily from single-parent homes. Many of these kids are emotionally fragile and desperate for attention and affirmation from an adult of their own gender. Yet the national board of directors of BBBSA (at the urging of local agencies in New York and New Jersey) has determined that these same boys and girls should be paired with homosexual mentors.

In light of the ongoing sex scandal involving Catholic priests, the new policy of "inclusion" by Big Brothers Big Sisters appears reckless and irresponsible. Many of the priests charged with sexually abusing children and adolescents have admitted they are homosexuals. They used their position of authority to sexually violate those who trusted them the most. BBBSA's decision to match fatherless boys, starving for male attention, with gay men is a recipe for disaster.

While gay activists insist there is no connection between homosexuality and the sexual abuse of children, the evidence indicates that a substantial number of gay men seek adolescent males or boys as sexual partners. A study in "Archives of Sexual Behavior" found that homosexual men are attracted to young males, including those as young as age 15. Gay researchers Karla Jay and Allen Young once reported that 73 percent of the gay men they surveyed had engaged in sex with boys 16 to 19 years of age or younger. It is also important to note that many pedophiles consider themselves to be homosexual. A study of 229 convicted child molesters found that 86 percent of offenders who molested boys described themselves as homosexual or bisexual.

Themes of adult-child sex are common in gay publications. The nation's largest gay publisher, Alyson Publications, which distributes "Daddy' s Roommate" and other books that promote homosexuality to children, also publishes books advocating man-boy sex, or pedophilia, including:

• "The Radical Case," which contains detailed information on how to engage in sexual relations with young boys, and
• "The Age Taboo," which claims "Boy-lovers ... are not child molesters. The child abusers are ... parents who force their staid morality onto the young people in their custody."

Certainly not all homosexuals are pedophiles. However, perhaps Big Brothers Big Sisters should pay heed to the words of gay activist Michael Swift. Writing in the Gay Community News, Swift stated:

We shall sodomize your sons, emblems of your feeble masculinity, of your shallow dreams and vulgar lies. We shall seduce them in your schools, in your dormitories, in your gymnasiums, in your locker rooms, in your sports arenas, in your seminaries, in your youth groups, in your movie theatre bathrooms, in your army bunkhouses, in your truck stops, in your all-male clubs, in your houses of Congress, wherever men are men together. Your
sons will become our minions and do our bidding. They will be recast in our image. They will come to crave and adore us.

Hopefully, those who share Swift's philosophy haven't applied to become Big Brothers.

Apart from concerns about pedophilia, there is another question: Is a child from a single-parent home best served by a gay or lesbian mentor? During early adolescence, many children experience a period of sexual-identity confusion when they can easily be influenced in either direction. A study in the journal "Pediatrics" surveyed 34,707 Minnesota teenagers and found that fully 25.9 percent of 12-year-olds were uncertain if they were gay or straight. Will young teens in the midst of forming their personal and sexual identities receive appropriate guidance and direction from homosexual mentors?

Fatherless boys and motherless girls served by Big Brothers Big Sisters are in desperate need of same-sex role models. Can a girl without a mom learn what it means to be a wife and a mother from a lesbian? Can a gay man teach a boy without a dad the skills he needs to be an effective husband and father?

Why has Big Brothers Big Sisters of America chosen to implement such an ill-advised new policy? Can it truly be in the best interests of children? It seems more likely that the organization is bowing to pressure from the same homosexual activists who have attacked the Boy Scouts. Perhaps BBBSA is fearful that if it refuses to embrace homosexual volunteers it will suffer the same criticism and cuts in funding. Whatever the reason, BBBSA has obviously decided that the "rights" of homosexuals are more important than the safety and well being of the children it serves.

Dr. Bill Maier is a child and family psychologist and serves as Psychologist in Residence at Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs, Colo.

EDITOR'S NOTE: To express your concerns, contact Judy Vrendenburgh, chief executive officer for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, at 215-567-7000. You also can send a fax to 215-567-0394, or an e-mail to national@bbbsa.org. Please also contact the executive director of your local Big Brothers Big Sisters office. You can find the number of your local office by going to www.bbbsa.org and clicking on "How to Volunteer."