RECENT BUDGET cuts meant Protestant education in the Republic had “been put back by 40 years”, the Church of Ireland General Synod has been told. Adrian Oughton told delegates that among the detrimental effects of the cuts for his school, Wilson’s Hospital, Multyfarnham, Co Westmeath, would be “one less teacher than the Catholic school beside us, which also has 400 pupils”.
He continued “our pupils need grants to attend our schools”. Such schools were “inclusive”, he said, and boarding at them was not “an indication of elitism” but “an absolute necessity for our [widely dispersed] pupils”.
Concluding, he said, “we must not allow our educational system to be downvalued in this way”.
The Dean of Ossory, Very Rev Norman Lynas, described the decision to impose the cuts as “a unilateral act” which was “morally wrong”, and which was also “a disproportionate hit”. He queried whether it might be open to legal challenge. “The message has to go out that it is totally unacceptable.” David Wynne, of the Church’s Secondary Education Committee, which allocates the State grant to Protestant schools, said the numbers of parents seeking grant assistance had “increased significantly” over figures for this time last year. He also pointed out that in 2008 as many as 38 per cent of applicants were in need of the maximum grant.
The Church of Ireland primate, Archbishop Alan Harper, remarked on the “irony that in both jurisdictions education should be in such extraordinary turmoil”.
The Bishop of Derry, Right Rev Ken Good, accused the Northern Ireland educational authorities of reneging on agreements reached in the mid-decades of the last century with the Protestant churches when they transferred ownership of their schools to the State.
“It is important that we hold onto our rights in education as a church,” he said.
Yesterday delegates passed a Bill which amended the Book of Common Prayer to include a Declaration preceding its Articles of Religion.
Among the Declaration’s paragraphs is one which says that “historic documents often stem from periods of deep separation between Christian Churches. Whilst, in spite of a real degree of convergence, distinct differences remain, the tone and tenor of the language of the negative statements towards other Christians should not be seen as representing the spirit of this Church today.”
It expresses regret “that words written in another age and in a different context should be used in a manner hurtful to or antagonistic towards other Christians”.
The Synod also passed a motion calling for exploration of a common theology of baptism. It was proposed by the Bishop of Meath and Kildare Most Rev Richard Clarke and seconded by Canon Patrick Comerford.
It said “the time is right for the different Christian traditions in Ireland to explore afresh a common theology of baptism and to share insights concerning their baptismal discipline and practice” and instructed the Church’s Commission for Christian Unity and Dialogue to make this a priority.