Sir, – Breda O'Brien informs us that, "Many Catholic schools are indistinguishable from secular schools except for some remaining traditions and trappings" ("New Archbishop of Dublin faces daunting challenges", Opinion & Analysis, February 6th).
This is clearly a major issue facing the new archbishop of Dublin, Dermot Farrell.
I would like to suggest the following approach to this problem. The boards of management of all Catholic schools should be required to nail their colours to the mast by erecting a large sign, clearly visible from the roadway, stating that their school is Catholic in ethos and that they are committed to the delivery of high-quality Catholic religion classes for the pupils whose parents favour a Catholic education.
Those who decline to do so should be requested by Archbishop Farrell to have their schools divested in the interests of integrity and transparency. – Yours, etc,
TIMOTHY
CADOGAN,
Castlegar,
Galway.
Sir, – Breda O’Brien is concerned that, “Many Catholic schools are indistinguishable from secular schools except for some remaining traditions and trappings”.
It can be argued that the great majority of the schools she is referencing cannot fairly be called Catholic schools. They are, in truth, Irish taxpayers’ schools which, through an accident of history, have been placed under the management of the Catholic Church. As Irish taxpayers’ schools, they should indeed be secular, with faith formation taken care of outside of the school by those parents and pastors (not teachers on State-funded salaries) who are interested in it. – Yours, etc,
SEAMUS McKENNA,
Dublin 14.