The Catholic Church, the State and education

Madam, - The Taoiseach's defence of the Catholic Church's role in Irish education runs counter to the republican values professed…

Madam, - The Taoiseach's defence of the Catholic Church's role in Irish education runs counter to the republican values professed by his party.

According to CSO figures, less than 90 per cent of this State's population is Catholic. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the number of practising Catholics is lower. Having 95 per cent of our schools under Catholic management - and a further 3 per cent under the control of other religious groups - is therefore disproportionate to the needs of a significant minority of Irish residents.

The one in 10 people in this state who are not Catholic have the right to send their children to schools that respect their own beliefs about religion. In some cases, this right has been met by schools run by other denominations, or by the Educate Together movement. However, many parents are still obliged to send children to schools where one form of religious education is privileged over others. This is fundamentally unfair, and risks reinforcing religious and cultural divisions at a time when Ireland needs to promote inclusion, especially among younger generations. This cannot be called an example of our State cherishing all of its children equally.

Liz O'Donnell's suggestion that the Ferns Report illustrates the need for the removal of the Catholic Church from our education system is unhelpful, since it proposes a punitive approach towards the clergy, when what is need is a focus on the human rights of Ireland's citizens. The argument about whether the Catholic Church deserves gratitude or blame for what it has done in the past is important, but it doesn't change the fact that the disproportionate influence of that institution over Irish schools is no longer tenable.

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A just solution to this problem could involve some of the following steps. All new schools built and funded by the State could be non-denominational, perhaps with the proviso that faith-based schools may also be funded in areas where the need for non-denominational education has already been met. Religious iconography, class prayers, and the preparation of children for religious sacraments could be removed from all existing classrooms.

Where demand for these exists, boards of management could provide them outside of school hours, with funding provided by the appropriate religious organisation(s). And if the clergy are to remain involved in the management of Catholic schools, they could cease their involvement in any procedures relating to appointments or promotions, which should not be influenced by teachers' willingness to teach one form of religious instruction. Such suggestions could provide greater levels of equality in our education system.

They might also be of benefit to the Catholic Church itself, since they would ensure that participation in religious activities would arise from teachers' and parents' choices, and not from conformity or hypocrisy.

I make these suggestions not because the Catholic Church has shown itself to be negligent towards the welfare of children, nor because its institutional structures are incompatible with the transparent management of schools. I make them because, in a supposedly secular republic, every citizen has the right to an education that treats people of all religions - and of no religion - as equal. The Taoiseach is therefore welcome to phone All Hallows as often as he likes, but his Government must stop ignoring its responsibilities in this area. - Yours, etc,

Dr PATRICK LONERGAN, Caheronaun Road, Loughrea, Co Galway.

Madam, - I was surprised and disappointed at the intemperate reaction of the Taoiseach to last Wednesday's Dáil remarks by Liz O'Donnell on church-state relations. The tone of his personalised response was condescending and insulting, in particular his offer of a "briefing" on the Vincentian community at All Hallows. This was in direct contrast to the eloquent words of Ms O'Donnell, who directly addressed the necessary consequences of the Ferns Report.

I was most shocked by the Taoiseach's statement that the Catholic Church is indispensable in the management of schools. The church hierarchy has clearly shown that its first loyalty is to its own welfare and to the dictates of the Vatican, rather than to the welfare of children. Is this group indispensable? It is unaccountable to the parents of Ireland yet manages a vast education structure with taxpayers' funding.

The Taoiseach fails to see what is obvious: the education system cannot remain as it is given what the hierarchy of the Catholic Church overlooked and allowed. The special relationship must end. - Yours, etc,

HUGH RAMSAY, Trees Road, Mount Merrion, Co Dublin.

Madam, - I want to protest strongly at the former PD Minister's remark that "the cosy phone calls from All Hallows to Government Buildings must end". I consider that she went well beyond her brief. Her comments were offensive to the All Hallows institution as well as to the Taoiseach, who has explained his personal connection with it.

As a former lay student of All Hallows I can vouch for the integrity of that body and for the splendid work it is doing in adult education today, as well as the work it did in the past. An apology from Ms O'Donnell would be appropriate. - Yours, etc,

HELEN COSTELLO, Eglinton Court, Dublin, 4.

Madam, - Liz O'Donnell's suggestion that the Government should end its special relationship with the Roman Catholic Church because of clerical child sex abuse and how it was handled is astounding.

Firstly, Ms O' Donnell needs to put the child abuse issue in perspective by acknowledging that, notwithstanding the gravity of the issue, the incidence of child sex abuse by clergy is statistically minuscule: the vast majority of such sordid exploitation occurs within families and by non-clerical individuals within children's social milieu.

Secondly, it would be totally unjust to discriminate against the Roman Catholic Church as an institution and the overwhelming majority of decent clergy and religious because of the sins of a relative minority.

Ms O'Donnell might also do well to reflect on the historical contribution to education in our schools and colleges by clergy and religious before shooting from the hip in such ill-considered and irresponsible manner.

It is important that politicians know the public viewpoint on core social issues. If Ms. O'Donnell had bothered to acquaint herself with the findings of a study conducted by the educational research unit at St Patrick's College, Drumcondra (2004), she would have learned that the majority of parents in the State favour the retention of church management in State schools.

As an educationist, I am shocked by her irresponsible utterances, which bear all the hallmarks of discourtesy, tactlessness and flawed logic. I urge her to withdraw her senseless and grossly offensive rhetoric and offer a public apology. - Yours, etc,

PATRICK J.O'BRIEN, Maynooth, Co Kildare.