A prominent Irish theologian has warned that the legacy of Irish religious could be “betrayed” by the gifting of third-level Catholic institutions to the State.

The Vatican must investigate several deals made by the Church in Ireland to hand over Catholic colleges in recent years, Prof. Eamonn Conway told The Irish Catholic.

The founder and until recently Head of Theology and Religious Studies at Mary Immaculate College said there needs to be a “formal evaluation” of the deals by the relevant Vatican bodies, such as the Dicastery for Culture and Catholic Education.

Prof. Conway questioned what the Church has received in return for the gifts of the Catholic institutions “in terms of safeguarding resources for the Church’s mission in Ireland”.

“It is important that the sacrifice of previous generations of Catholics who proudly and generously founded and built up these colleges, and that of the many religious sisters and brothers who worked selflessly over the years to provide a free education, is neither forgotten nor betrayed,” Prof. Conway said.