A false narrative cultivated by ideological groups and amplified by the media has unfairly denigrated Catholic schools [1], according to the lead Irish Bishop on education.
Speaking at Saint Oliver Plunkett Primary School in Navan, Bishop of Meath, Tom Deenihan, said the portrayal of Catholic schools has not been on what they do—on the education, support and care that they provide. Neither is that they are popular, well supported, and serve their community while being genuinely inclusive.
Instead, he said, it has been “a more negative, ideologically driven and adversarial depiction of Catholic schools, . . . as being grim places of indoctrination that children are forced to attend by Church and State”.
“And of course, that discourse and narrative has been ill-informed and false”.
He added: “Many of us have known this narrative to be untrue but, various groups, supported by funding from ideological philanthropical entities, many from outside the State, continue to lobby politicians and media with a rather narrow, nuanced and distorted narrative”.
In their defence, Bishop Deenihan said that independent research has indicated that Catholic schools are “the most inclusive, not just in terms of religion but in terms of ability, socio-economic background, ethnic background and nationality”.