Sir, – In the context of current discussions about Constitutional issues, it is important to quote the Constitution in its integrity, as even small omissions can give the wrong impression in regard to what our Constitution of 1937 was trying to achieve.
The complete text of the passage Article 44.4 of the Constitution quoted by Paddy Monahan (December 27th) asserts the right of any child "to attend a school receiving public money without attending religious instruction at that school" (words omitted by Mr Monahan in italics).
It was not the intention of the writers of the Constitution to defend secular education, as the omission of the last three words might suggest.
This is clear from Article 41.2, which speaks of the inalienable right and duty of parents “to provide, according to their means, for the religious and moral, intellectual, and social education of their children”.
What the writers seem to have had in mind in Article 44.4 was, for instance, the circumstances of non-Catholic children in an isolated rural area who were attending the local Catholic school in the absence of any other option.
There can be no argument about the general thrust of Mr Monahan’s letter, which is that ways must be found to accommodate the wishes of parents who do not wish their children to attend religion classes.
However, especially in Article 42.2, the Constitution appears to give prior consideration to those parents who do want their children to have a religious education either in state or in private schools.
The 1937 Constitution is now 80 years old, and was written in a different cultural milieu. It may not be the perfect fit for the more multicultural and more secular society of today, but it is the only Constitution we have got, and if we are to have an honest debate about it, it is important not to quote from it in a tendentious manner. – Yours, etc,
BILL TONER, SJ
Dublin 10.