Martin addresses schools patron issue [IrishTimes]
- Published: 20 June 2011
CATHOLIC PATRONAGE of a school “does not on its own bring about a truly Catholic culture to a school”, the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, has said.
“The current discussion on changes in school patronage is not just about management or ethos or about numbers,” he said yesterday. “Catholic identity cannot be separated from the level of faith of the community within which the school belongs.”
His comments anticipate the Department of Education’s Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector , which begins in Dublin on Wednesday and continues until lunchtime on Friday.
It will hear submissions from interested parties including three from Catholic church bodies – the Council for Education of the Irish Episcopal Conference, the Catholic Primary School Management Association and the Association of Trustees of Catholic Schools.
In a submission to the forum, the Catholic bishops have criticised as “very unhelpful” a suggestion by Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn that 50 per cent of primary schools under their control could be transferred to other patrons.
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