Church ‘cannot stand by’ and let religion be removed from schools
Archbishop claims State seeking to dilute right to access school with faith-based ethos
Archbishop Eamon Martin: “We should not ignore the fact that increasing numbers of Catholic children are no longer attending Catholic schools.” Photograph: Eric Luke
The Catholic primate has expressed concern at the prospect of “a generic model of primary education” being promoted in Ireland. Catholic schools “cannot stand back and allow faith and religion to be sidelined or privatised out of the realm of schools and education,” he said.
Archbishop Eamon Martin told a conference in Dublin on Thursday that religion in a Catholic school was “not an added extra to be fitted in during break time or twilight hours or during registration. Everything that happens in the school community is rooted in the Gospel values,” he said.