EDUCATION AND ECUMENISM

IRENE NI MHAILLE,

IRENE NI MHAILLE,

A chara, - I would like to congratulate John Carr, General Secretary of the INTO, for his responsible and intelligent approach to the Dunboyne controversy (The Irish Times, August 26th). I was deeply shocked by the sacking of Tomás Ó Dulaing, for what seemed an enlightened and honourable stance. I was still more shocked by the ethos of the Foras Patrúnachta, as described by Brendán Mac Cormaic (The Irish Times, August 8th) in its disregard of the religious needs of primary school children, both Protestant and Catholic, and in its extraordinary slant on ecumenism.

Having been involved in the renewal and development of catechesis (faith formation) and religious education in Roman Catholicism over the past 40 years, I would have to agree with Bishop Richard Clarke and Dean Robert Mac Carthy that matters of deep personal commitment such as religious faith must begin in the community of faith that is the home and the parish and under the influence of parents and committed adult Christians, before they are dealt with in the school. These matters are, said Bishop Clarke, "of such intimate sacredness that the classroom is not the best setting".

Sacraments, in post-Vatican II Catholicism, are seen as events of faith and need sustained preparation. With this in mind, many Roman Catholic parishes since the 1960s went back to the model of Christian initiation of the early Church. Irish Catholicism has, however, remained more institutional up to the present.

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Where ecumenism is concerned, we would be at an exciting new crossroads, where sometimes more agreements are found across denominations than within and where more disagreements are found within than across! A new, creative approach might help dialogue both within and across Christian denominations. Young people in our schools should be trusted to help with their suggestions.

The INTO has asked for a forum on international education. Such a forum should also include the TUI and ASTI. But interdenominational education may not be enough. At this juncture in Irish society, we must also provide for the religious values of non-Christian faiths and of secular humanism. My experience of inter-faith religious education in secular schools in post-colonial Africa has convinced me that only a secular school can do full justice to all beliefs and non-beliefs on a basis of equality and in a way that can be mutually enriching for all.

Since the beginning of the 1990s, the UN has made interesting initiatives in stressing the growing importance of religious education in a secular age, in the interests of justice and peace among nations. - Is mise,

IRENE NÍ MHÁILLE,

Seapoint Avenue,

Blackrock,

Co Dublin.