A group of Catholic bishops in the North have said they believe proposals for new education structures in the North "pose a serious threat to the right of parents to choose a Catholic education for their children".
Following their December meeting in Maynooth today, the nine bishops issued a strongly worded statement in which they said they "cannot in conscience" commend the proposals to parents, teachers and all those involved in Catholic education.
The bishops had considered draft policy papers on the creation of new structures for education administration under the Review of Public Administration (RPA) as well as the recommendations of a review by Prof George Bain.
The statement said: "We, the Catholic bishops of Northern Ireland, are concerned that the draft proposals for new structures of educational administration in Northern Ireland under the RPA, pose 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."
The bishops claimed the proposals would "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 noted, however, in the Bain review, an emphasis on the principles of 'equality, accessibility, diversity and parental choice' which they said are "patently missing" in the Department's policy papers.
The bishops' statement concluded: "We are satisfied that we have made every effort to engage positively with Government and the Department of Education to develop arrangements in the best interests of all the educational partners and which would provide quality education for all the children of Northern Ireland.
"On this occasion, however, we feel compelled to say that we cannot in conscience commend these proposals to parents, teachers and all involved in Catholic education."
Following their December general meeting in Maynooth, the Irish bishops expressed concern about the situation faced by their Northern members following the publication of the RPA policy papers.