“Keeping the show on the road” [educationmatters.ie]
- Published: 23 February 2011
Remarks regarding patronage of primary schools in Ireland by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin from his address to the Cambridge Group for Irish Studies.
"There is a growing debate in Ireland about schools and the patronage of schools. I am patron of about 470 primary schools - and patronage is not just an honorary title, it is one with practical consequences. I am responsible for the management of the ethos of those schools, for senior appointments, and - being a practical man - I recognise one particular practical consequence of being patron, namely, that I am the one who can be sued when legal action takes place.
“I am the patron of about 93% of all primary schools in the Archdiocese of Dublin while Catholics compose only about 85% of the population. There may be historical reasons why this is so. These Catholic schools may be very good schools, open and tolerant, welcoming the disadvantaged sectors of society, multi-cultured and inclusive rather than exclusive. Such a massive presence of the Catholic Church in the management of schools is, however, patently a remnant of the past and no longer tenable today.
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