Bishop-elect Paul Connell The president of the body that represents Catholic second level schools has described as “worrying and unwelcome” Department of Education guidelines that insist that schools must provide alternatives for students who do not wish to participate in religious education.
While the circular applies only to Education and Training Board and community schools, Fr Paul Connell told Education Minister Richard Bruton that the move was “disappointing”.
“While it did specifically exclude our schools, it is in our opinion a very worrying and unwelcome development not least because, despite our exclusion, it will now cause difficulty for our schools in managing a situation which up to now has been dealt with in a sensitive and appropriate manner, respecting an individual student’s right to opt out whilst not overburdening the school in terms of supervision or curriculum reduction due to a lack of resources,” he said.
Fr Connell was addressing the minister at the annual meeting of the Association of Management of Catholic Secondary Schools – the organisation of which Fr Connell is President.
Fr Connell told the gathering that Catholic schools must continue to inspire young people to understand that “to follow Christ is to love, care and respect each other but also to love, care and respect the world around us, to protect our common home.
“Catholic educators have been doing it for generations – helping young people to grow and mature as good healthy and balanced citizens,” he said.