Archbishop Diarmuid Martin Readers of The Irish Catholic are almost evenly split on whether taking sacramental preparation out of schools is a good thing.
It comes as the Archdiocese of Dublin confirmed a story in this newspaper last week which first revealed the plan put forward by the Council of Priests. It would see parishes take on a central role in preparing children for sacraments like First Confession, First Holy Communion and Confirmation.
The role of the school would become secondary and parents would be encouraged to be key players in the process rather than passive participants.
In a letter to priests, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said “the proposal is not something that will be accomplished overnight; it cannot however be put forever on the long finger.
“It will take some time to put in place an effective development of parish capacity to implement this initiative. We need however to begin immediately with the preparation and training of voluntary lay catechists and the development of resource materials,” he said.
Readers of The Irish Catholic on Facebook were spit down the middle on whether they supported the plan or not. In the online poll, 49% of respondents said they felt that it was a good idea, while 51% said they disagreed and thought it was a bad idea.