Push the Gospel in schools regardless of ‘popularity’ – education priest

The continuous push to remove faith formation from post-primary schools in Ireland must be resisted so young people are not “neglected” and receive no pastoral care, a priest involved in education for 20 years has said.

Speaking to The Irish Catholic Fr Patrick Moore PP of Castlepollard in Co. Westmeath and Vicar Forane said it would be “terrible negligence” to allow children not to receive faith formation regardless of changing demographics.

“I think it is absolutely appalling that the young people… have no formation in Faith whatsoever. I’m told they have civics classes in which they talk about world religions, you might as well be talking about various species of butterflies. It has little impact on Faith practice – it’s pretty serious,” Fr Moore said.

Fr Moore said that in his experience under the Education Training Boards (ETBs),  established in 2013, there has been an “appalling lack of faith formation” and the idea of mindfulness is “rubbish”.

He said: “It’s a very serious matter, I’m very passionate about the pastoral care of the youngsters and it has been neglected very, very much I think.”

Asked about the fact that in the 2022 census, when over 3.5 million people living in the State reported that their religion was Roman Catholic accounting for 69% of the population – a huge decrease from 78% in 2016 – Fr Moore said despite the reduction in Catholics, people “must hear the message. We were told it would be difficult and we would be persecuted and so on. So we just have to be prepared, to be strong in the Faith and keep going, with very good strength but also with great compassion and mercy of course. I don’t think we should sit down and say, ‘Oh, it’s all over now’”.

Fr Moore does not believe that there should be a focus on downsizing regarding the amount of Catholic schools, saying “I don’t like to see people going to the wall and not being cared for pastorally, I think it is terrible negligence to say ‘Oh, let them go to heck, they don’t matter, let them go’.

“The commercial world penetrates society every day with their ‘Good News’, which is totally different, and make no apology for it.”

He said: “You have to impinge on them, the Lord himself impinged on them. The message of the Acts of the Apostles is that you give the Good News welcome or unwelcome, popular or unpopular, so we’re supposed to penetrate society with the Good News of the Gospel whether they want it or not.”

Fr Moore said that bishops and priests should not “throw in the towel” and that he tells parents from the altar “they should have a passionate interest in their children’s formation in the Faith and they should inquire about what formation they are getting in the school”.

He added: “You have to stimulate it in the community as well. I feel very passionate about it because I feel it’s a pastoral vacuum, and I don’t think there should be a pastoral vacuum and I would not let the Government dictate my spiritual standards to me under any circumstance.”