Church welcomes future school patronage change

[Gruffalo]

The Irish Catholic bishops have said they no longer see the Church as the sole or dominant provider of primary schools in the future.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0803/education_primary.html

The bishops have expressed their willingness to coo-operate with the moves to ensure a greater variety of primary schools. It is good to see them recognise that we must meet the needs of much larger variety of parents.

[Captain Con O'Sullivan]

If only we could persuade them to see the need to lock up child molesters we'd finally be getting somewhere.

Still- as you point out its great to see septuegenarian virgins air their views on childcare.

Where would we be without them?

[Gruffalo]

[quote=Captain Con O'Sullivan;53408]

If only we could persuade them to see the need to lock up child molesters we'd finally be getting somewhere.

I would have to agree with you on that. But I think things are starting to move on that front, though far too slowly.

Still- as you point out its great to see septuegenarian virgins air their views on childcare.

Where would we be without them?

You bring comedy to a whole new level (thats not a compliment).

[Spectabilis]

http://www.irishtimes.com/focus/2010...ools/index.pdf

The Irish Times carries the full report today:

Some figures:

"
There are 3,165 primary schools (excluding special schools) of which 2,888 (or
approximately 91%) are under Catholic patronage.
Table 1.
School Year School Ethos No ofSchols % of Total
2009/10
CATHOLIC 2888 91.25%
CHURCH OF IRELAND 181 5.72%
PRESBYTERIAN 14 0.44%
METHODIST 1 0.03%
JEWISH 1 0.03%
INTER
DENOMINATIONAL 8 0.25%
MUSLIM 2 0.06%
MULTI
DENOMINATIONAL 69 2.18%
Quaker 1 0.03%
Total 3165

[Cáthasaigh]

The sexual deviants in women's clothing who populate the Catholic church have no business being involved in the education of children. Catholic priesthood is a crime against nature which is why so many priests become abominations. Our children should not be exposed to these perverse individuals indeed said individuals should be rounded up and offered martyrdom opportunities. After all we would be doing them the favour of speeding their meeting with their god if that is what they truly believe.

[Cato]

If only we could persuade them to see the need to lock up child molesters we'd finally be getting somewhere.

Still- as you point out its great to see septuegenarian virgins air their views on childcare.

Where would we be without them?

They're virgins!?!! Give the amount of sexual shenanigans that we are aware of and that I'm aware of privately, I would say that that is a rather large assumption.

[John McMahon]

If only we could persuade them to see the need to lock up child molesters we'd finally be getting somewhere.

Locking up, or, even better, executing child molesters, is a job for the State.

[John McMahon]

[QUOTE=Cáthasaigh;60285]

"The sexual deviants in women's clothing who populate the Catholic church have no business being involved in the education of children. "

Please stop being arrogant. Please leave it to practising Catholics to decide who will control the education of their children.

"Our children should not be exposed to these perverse individuals"

If by "our" you mean your children, that is your business and none of mine. May I suggest that if you do not want the education of your children to be controlled by the RC Church, it would be foolish to send them to a Catholic school.

[Cato]

"The sexual deviants in women's clothing who populate the Catholic church have no business being involved in the education of children. "

Please stop being arrogant. Please leave it to practising Catholics to decide who will control the education of their children.

"Our children should not be exposed to these perverse individuals"

If by "our" you mean your children, that is your business and none of mine. May I suggest that if you do not want the education of your children to be controlled by the RC Church, it would be foolish to send them to a Catholic school.

I send my kids to a Catholic school, but they are being raised without any faith or belief in god. I like the idea of them being subversives in the Catholic school system, questioning the teachers and other students when they mention 'god' or 'jesus'. Thankfully there is a growing group of parents that have decided not to have their children make their 'First Communion'. Ultimately, as more and more people get the confidence to pull their children out of this nonsense, it will undermine the 'ethos' of the school from within.

The local Catholic church sent people around to drop off envelopes for the collection of 'dues'. I politely declined. They challenged me that my children go to the local Catholic school, but I pointed out that that has nothing to do with the parish but rather with the lack of local choice, so I won't pay. They were quite disgruntled.

[Cáthasaigh]

If by "our" you mean your children, that is your business and none of mine. May I suggest that if you do not want the education of your children to be controlled by the RC Church, it would be foolish to send them to a Catholic school.

As you well know Roger, if one wants a child to be educated in the Irish tradition in the O6C then one is forced to send said child to a school where men in womens' clothes are frequently seen; often conducting weird rituals involving cannibalistic suggestions.

[Griska]

http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0803/education_primary.html

The bishops have expressed their willingness to coo-operate with the moves to ensure a greater variety of primary schools.

How nice of them.

[John McMahon]

I send my kids to a Catholic school, but they are being raised without any faith or belief in god. I like the idea of them being subversives in the Catholic school system, questioning the teachers and other students when they mention 'god' or 'jesus'. Thankfully there is a growing group of parents that have decided not to have their children make their 'First Communion'. Ultimately, as more and more people get the confidence to pull their children out of this nonsense, it will undermine the 'ethos' of the school from within.

The local Catholic church sent people around to drop off envelopes for the collection of 'dues'. I politely declined. They challenged me that my children go to the local Catholic school, but I pointed out that that has nothing to do with the parish but rather with the lack of local choice, so I won't pay. They were quite disgruntled.

If you send your children to a Catholic school, they and, by extension, yourself are guests of the Catholic church. Please behave as courteous guests should behave. If your children or you try to subvert the Catholicism of the school, they should be expelled.

If there is no alternative to the Catholic school, why is there no alternative? Catholic schools did not fall from heaven. They had to be founded by practising Catholics. What is stopping you and your fellow secularists establishing your own school? Catholic schools are for Catholics. In a Catholic school, non-Catholics have no right to equality with Catholics.

P.S. I am not impressed with your attempts to justify your not paying your way. Why should Catholics pay to provide you with a free education service?

[John McMahon]

As you well know Roger, if one wants a child to be educated in the Irish tradition in the O6C then one is forced to send said child to a school where men in womens' clothes are frequently seen; often conducting weird rituals involving cannibalistic suggestions.

Not true. In Northern Ireland, there are Irish medium schools which are capable of educating your children "in the Irish tradition". If there is no such school near your home, what are you doing about it?

Catholic schools do not exist to educate children "in the Irish tradition". Their purpose is to educate children in the Catholic tradition. Does that come as a shock to you?

Why do you send your dear children to schools where "men in womens' clothes are frequently seen; often conducting weird rituals involving cannibalistic suggestions"? I think that any parent, who has such an opinion of Catholicism and who, nonetheless, sends his child to a Catholic school, should be imprisoned for neglect of his children.

Why not send your child to a State school? At least there is an excuse for Cato. In far off Galway, he has no immediate alternative to the Catholic school and might lack the energy, the drive or the resources to found a secularist school. There is no such excuse for you. You have already existing alternatives to the Catholic school.

[Captain Con O'Sullivan]

Not true. In Northern Ireland, there are Irish medium schools which are capable of educating your children "in the Irish tradition". If there is no such school near your home, what are you doing about it?

Catholic schools do not exist to educate children "in the Irish tradition". Their purpose is to educate children in the Catholic tradition. Does that come as a shock to you?

Why do you send your dear children to schools where "men in womens' clothes are frequently seen; often conducting weird rituals involving cannibalistic suggestions"? I think that any parent, who has such an opinion of Catholicism and who, nonetheless, sends his child to a Catholic school, should be imprisoned for neglect of his children.

Why not send your child to a State school? At least there is an excuse for Cato. In far off Galway, he has no immediate alternative to the Catholic school and might lack the energy, the drive or the resources to found a secularist school. There is no such excuse for you. You have already existing alternatives to the Catholic school.

Thats just the point. If there are nothing but catholic schools available then parents have the choice of sending their child to that school but ignoring the non-curricular activities the same way they might not want their child to go canoeing in case they drown.

I speak as an atheist from the time I was reading at secondary school level and who enjoyed tremendously the sheer comedy of receiving sex education from a couple of elderly celibate nuns.

I recommend a catholic education for children of all ages. Comedy as high as that rarely appears on television.

[Aspro]

If you send your children to a Catholic school, they and, by extension, yourself are guests of the Catholic church. Please behave as courteous guests should behave. If your children or you try to subvert the Catholicism of the school, they should be expelled.

If there is no alternative to the Catholic school, why is there no alternative? Catholic schools did not fall from heaven. They had to be founded by practising Catholics. What is stopping you and your fellow secularists establishing your own school? Catholic schools are for Catholics. In a Catholic school, non-Catholics have no right to equality with Catholics.

P.S. I am not impressed with your attempts to justify your not paying your way. Why should Catholics pay to provide you with a free education service?

It is not up to individuals to establish their own school. It is a duty on the part of the State. "Why is there no alternative? Catholic schools did not fall from heaven" you ask. There is no alternative because of the strangehold that the church has had over the formation of State policy with regard to education and health ever since DeValera and McQuaid devised our constitution. That time has passed. We are in a new era.

In the wake of the Murphy report, a recent poll found that 61% of people want the Catholic Church to give up control of primary schools.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...263037668.html

If adherence to a faith is measured in mass attendance, acceptance of homosexuality and use of contraception, then Ireland (thankfully) is no longer a "Catholic" country - it is increasingly multi-denominational and secular. As this is the case, the education system needs to remove the ethos and influence of one church and leave religion where it belongs - as a private issue, for the privacy of the individual in their home and place of worship - not imposed on the majority in State funded schools.

It's time we parents had a proper choice of how to educate our children in schools where they can learn to be rational thinking human beings, free from fear, guilt and superstition.