The Catholic bishops and the body responsible for running most Catholic schools in Northern Ireland have entered into direct conflict with the North's education minister, Maria Eagle, over plans to overhaul the North's education system.
The nine Northern Ireland bishops have rejected plans which as part of wider educational reform would restructure Catholic education in the North. The Council for Catholic Maintained Schools said the official attitude to the concept of a Catholic ethos in education was "barely short of being dismissive and antagonistic".
"We feel compelled to say that we cannot in conscience commend these proposals to parents, teachers and all involved in Catholic education," the bishops said.
Donal Flanagan, chief executive of the council, said yesterday: "The proposals as outlined can be interpreted as being very threatening to the future of Catholic education as a sustainable, viable option for those parents who wish to choose it for their children's education."
The bishops and the council are challenging proposals under the radical reform of public administration that by spring 2008 would create a single education and skills authority. This would take over central control from the council, the five education and library boards, and the integrated and Irish-language education sectors that currently are responsible for running most schools in Northern Ireland.
The bishops said they were concerned the proposals posed a "serious threat" to the right of parents to choose a Catholic education for their children. "By these proposals the Department of Education will give the proposed education and skills authority exclusive and wide-ranging powers without any requirement to take account of legitimate Catholic interests," they said in a statement on Wednesday night.
"The proposals will radically undermine a long-cherished Catholic education system which has been recognised for the strength of its distinctiveness and the richness of its tradition and diversity as contributing to the raising of school standards and the promotion of a culture of tolerance and understanding," they added.
The North's Department of Education and minister Ms Eagle, supported by the reform of public administration and Bain report, have contended there must be rationalisation, and greater cost-effectiveness and sharing of resources between schools because there are now 50,000 empty school desks in the North.
Dr Donal McKeown, auxiliary Bishop of Down and Connor, said the bishops accepted the need for rationalisation but that bodies such as the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools must be sustained to ensure a real and vital link between school and department. Mr Flanagan of the council, which runs 521 Catholic nursery, primary and secondary schools in Northern Ireland, and employs 8,500 teachers, expressed concern about an official departmental attitude to the ethos of Catholic education.
A department spokesman said the proposals were published after "positive and constructive engagement" with education stakeholders who were invited to submit further views by January 7th. "The department intends to hold meetings with each group before then, when there will be full opportunity to discuss the concerns raised," he added.