BISHOPS' REACTION:IRELAND'S CATHOLIC bishops have not sought nor are they seeking any veto when it comes to the appointment of teachers to provide religious instruction to Catholic children in primary schools, a spokesman for the Irish Episcopal Conference said last night.
What the bishops were seeking was an arrangement for religious instruction in primary schools similar to that which exist currently in VEC and other second-level schools, he said.
He dismissed as "ridiculous" and "emotive" the use of the word veto in the context. It was "more about noise than content . . . a smokescreen" and was most probably intended to distract delegates at the INTO conference in Kilkenny yesterday from difficult issues for the Department of Education there such as unfulfilled promises on class size and capitation, he said.
"The word veto does not appear once in the minutes of thatmeeting," he pointed out. He was referring to what was described in those minutes as a "consultation on the additional model of patronage at Diswellstown", a new primary school in west Dublin which will be under the patronage of Dublin VEC.
The consultation took place on April 27th last year between department officials, Bishop Leo O'Reilly, chairman of the Education Commission of the Irish Bishops' Conference, and Msgr Jim Cassin, the commission secretary.
On December 13th last, Bishop O'Reilly welcomed the announcement by Minister for Education Mary Hanafin of plans to provide for religious and faith formation during the school day for each of the main faith groups represented in the new inclusive primary schools.
Bishop O'Reilly said it was "essential that such provision be entrusted to qualified religious education teachers approved by the various faith traditions".
He is recorded in minutes for the April 27th, 2007 meeting, also in possession of The Irish Times, as having said that "in a time of increasing pluralism and rapid expansion, it is necessary to provide alternative models of patronage for schools. It is not realistic for the Church to be almost the sole provider of primary education."
He requested that, in the newer schools, teachers delivering religious instruction to Catholic pupils "be duly qualified and approved by the competent religious authorities" and that they be also required to have a certificate in religious instruction or an equivalent from an approved college.
He requested that there be visiting rights for parish clergy to help with preparing children for the sacraments and to offer pastoral care.
In general it was agreed that "the school will be multi-denominational in character welcoming pupils of different denominations and faiths and insofar as practicable will provide religious instruction in their own faiths. It will be respectful of pupils not professing a religious faith."