Sir, – While I admire Holly Cairns for her bravery, and fresh, young approach to some issues, I suspect she is too young to appreciate the value of the Catholic Church’s role in education over the years (“Call for end to church’s ‘near monopoly’ of primary schools”, News, June 1st). Most of us were well educated for a modest fee by unpaid religious teachers, nuns, priests and brothers, up to 1967, and thereafter free. Many people don’t forget their contribution, and the success of our education system under their leadership. Hence the reluctance to move away from the connection to them. So, even though those declaring themselves Catholic has gone down from 79 per cent in 2016 to 69 per cent in 2022, “school communities themselves don’t always reach a view that change in patronship is appropriate” (News, June 1st). I suspect the other reason that change is slow is that we don’t yet know what future the alternative will bring. – Yours, etc,
SHEILA DEEGAN,
Dublin 3.