THE CHOICE of parents to send their children to Catholic schools should not be seen as a decision in favour of separation from others, a senior Catholic bishop has said.
Bishop John McAreavey of Dromore was speaking in the wake of contentious comments made by First Minister Peter Robinson on the subject.
The DUP leader says he backs the right of parents to opt for Catholic schools but he opposes state funding for them. In his leader’s address to the DUP annual conference, he called for an honest debate with educationalists on the future of separate schools and the need for a more integrated society.
Dr McAreavey, in a document for the bimonthly meeting of the Catholic Council for Maintained Schools, said support for church schools should not be viewed as backing for segregation.
“The distinct identity of Catholic schools is sometimes interpreted as a desire to stand apart from our society or even as a refusal to belong to or contribute to it; in a divided society a separate network of schools could be seen as reinforcing or tolerating division,” he said.
“I want to emphasise here that what defines Catholic education is not its separateness, but the core values that guide the teaching, learning and pastoral care.”
Every citizen, every community, every voluntary body, every organisation, every church has to make its contribution to a genuinely diverse and reconciled society, he added.
“Diversity ought not pose a threat to a peaceful society. In my view, it is a lack of respect for legitimate diversity, aspiration and identities . . . which undermine peace.
“It is not enough for any of us to say, ‘we did not cause division, suspicion or grievance’; rather we have to ask, ‘how can we contribute to a more mature and reconciled society?’”