Press release from The Iona Institute

Ruairi Quinn must clarify how he wants denominational schools to
teach RE

August 30, 2013– Education Minister Ruairi Quinn must clarify how he wants
denominational schools to teach religion and how he wants them to deal with
sacramental preparation.

At an education conference yesterday, Minister Quinn spoke of the
need for stand-alone Catholic schools to recognise “the rights of parents and
children who are not of the Catholic faith.”

He also referred to “the
disruptive experience of faith formation [and] preparation for communion and
confirmation”.

Commenting
on Minister Quinn’s remarks, David Quinn, Director of The Iona Institute said:
“Taken at face value, Minister Quinn’s remarks place the rights of non-Catholic
parents above the rights of Catholic parents in Catholic schools.

“He
appears to want Catholic schools to prepare children for the sacraments outside
of school time. He also seems to want them to radically alter the way they teach
religion so that ‘faith formation’ will not be ‘disruptive’.”

He
continued: “If this is what he wants, then the ability of Catholic schools to be
meaningfully Catholic will be greatly diminished. Ultimately this would be an
attack on the right of parents who want their children to receive a Catholic
education in a meaningfully Catholic school environment.”

He
concluded: “The recent survey of parents in several dozen areas around the
country conducted by the Department of Education shows there is actually very
little demand for a hand-over of Catholic schools to other patron bodies. This
would indicate that Minister Quinn’s remarks are not prompted by public demand
but by ideology.

“Minister
Quinn must clarify exactly what he wants Catholic and other denominational
schools to do in a way that will respect the rights of the vast majority of
parents who are happy with denominational education.”

ENDS