A greater involvement of parishes and parents in preparing children for the sacraments has been expressed by a Sacraments Review Group [1] in the Archdiocese of Dublin.
The Review Group carried out an online survey, with 1800 responses from parents, parishioners, clergy and parish workers, school principals and teachers.
According to a spokesperson [2] for the Archdiocese all the voices in the survey said passing on the faith is primarily the responsibility of the home, with the help of the parish, rather than a total reliance on the school.
This would entail a significant shift of focus, from the current set-up where schools engage with children to a new set-up where parishes engage with parents.
The survey highlights the challenge of engaging with parents with different levels of faith: those who are churchgoers, others who are not churchgoers but profess to have faith, others again who see the sacraments as family milestones with no faith dimension.