Ballyfermot parish priest launches defence of Catholic schools
By Maurice Garvey
AS THE debate continues on so-called “baptism barriers” in Irish primary schools, Ballyfermot priest Fr Joe McDonald launched an impassioned defence of Catholic schools – asking: “Is it okay to be a Catholic parent – would it be okay to choose Catholic schools?”
Fr Joe, parish priest at St Matthew’s Church, was in the audience at the Claire Byrne RTÉ show recently, and spoke candidly during a discussion which focused on the issue.
In January, Fine Gael Education Minister Richard Bruton threatened to withhold public funding to schools who seek pupils based on religious preferences, citing plans to banish “baptism barriers” in Irish primary schools.
Over 95 per cent of Irish schools are religiously run, and children cannot be accepted into certain schools unless they have been baptised.
Fr Joe said the “reality in most Catholic schools” was that they accepted children from different religious backgrounds.
He said: “Not only are they not Catholic, but they are not Christian. They are totally accepted. I am horrified to think they are discriminated against.”
Fr Joe said the Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has been saying for “five years and longer that we need to divest and cut down on the number of Catholic schools.”
When asked by Claire Byrne why that wasn’t happening, Fr Joe cited opposition from different groups involved, including parents and “the government who have some responsibility.”
“The sooner the better we get to the stage where Catholic parents who want a Catholic school have that, and all the other parents that are making a decision to go, on integrity, they should be facilitated in that.”
“It is not going to be a popular question but, is it okay to be a Catholic parent and choose a Catholic school and what is he (Bruton) doing to defend the right of Catholic parents in the new dispensation?” said Fr Joe.
Mr Bruton has set out different possible approaches in relation to primary schools, but also highlighted pitfalls and unintended con-sequences, particularly the ability of Islamic, Jewish, Protestant or other minority faiths to run schools in accordance with their ethos and admit children from their communities.
