The Bishop of Meath, Dr Michael Smith, has questioned whether Catholic schools should be obliged to provide education for those who have no commitment to the faith.
At a confirmation ceremony, Dr Smith said the future role of the church in education would have to be addressed more rigorously. In particular, he questioned whether the Catholic Church should have to provide education for those who do not "walk in the faith".
Speaking to The Irish Times yesterday, Dr Smith said his comments were designed to be provocative, as the church had to address serious issues.
People in many of the new satellite towns around Dublin appeared to want it both ways: they wanted the convenience of enrolling their children in the local Catholic school even when they had little interest in a denominational education.
They also wanted a good, well-disciplined regime even when these were people who did not walk in the faith. Some parishes, he said, felt they were being used by some parents and property developers.
He said in a small number of cases parents wanted to withdraw their children from religious instruction - even though teachers in Catholic primary schools are contractually obliged to teach religion in schools.
Dr Smith's remarks appear to have been triggered by new home brochures for rapidly expanding towns in his diocese which promise that schools will be on stream to cater for the increased demand.
As it was, he said, schools in towns such as Drogheda, Dunboyne and Navan were struggling to keep pace with the demand for places. "The question arises: should the Catholic community be obliged to provide a Catholic education even when some of these parents do not appear to want it?"
Dr Smith said he would like to see the Department of Education taking a more active role in providing non-denominational education for those who wanted it instead of expecting the Catholic Church to provide and run the schools.
Some priests were of the view that parents should be obliged to register with the parish to secure a place in a Catholic school but Dr Smith said such a decision would be premature.
At the confirmation ceremony last week, Dr Smith told the congregation that not everyone wanted to walk in the faith. "So I'm not too sure an obligation should rest with the Catholic community to provide education for all - beyond meeting its own commitments to its own people, and people that share the same vision of life and who share the same vision of faith."
He said this was the context in which decisions would have to be made, serious ones confronting serious issues of faith and belief. These comments were reported in last week's Drogheda Independent.
Dr Smith was involved in controversy some years ago when he opposed plans by the former minister for education, Ms Niamh Bhreatnach, to site a State-run community college in Dunboyne, Co Meath.
Dr Smith claimed the minister was trying to drive the church out of education. Eventually, a VEC school was built with church involvement.