On Sunday the 29 January 2012 on the occasion of Catholic Schools Week 2012 the Boards of Management of Catholic Post Primary Schools in the Cathedral Parish - The College of the Immaculate Conception, Summerhill, The Ursuline College and of the Primary Schools - Scoil Ursula, the Gael Scoil and St. John’s came  together for a special Eucharistic Celebration.  After the homily, the recently appointed members of the Boards of Management of the primary schools were commissioned formally by Bishop Jones.

 _{Members of the various Boards of Managment of Catholic Parish Schools with Bishop Jones during Catholic Schools Week 2012}

Homily of Bishop Christopher Jones  at Mass in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Sligo

on the Occasion of Catholic Schools Week

January 29th 2012  

 Catholic Schools Week is a relatively new development in parishes throughout Ireland but within the very short few years it has become an extremely popular development in our schools system. Catholic Schools Week and indeed our Catholic system of education have their roots going back through the centuries – back to the penal days, back to the hedge schools and indeed back to the great centres of Catholic Education established within a century of St. Patrick’s death.  

The Hedge Schools

We all know that through the days of Penal Laws, Catholics had no access to Catholic Schools. The only place that Catholic parents could send their children was to Protestant Schools where they would be evangelised and catechised as Protestants. Young Irish scholars went to Europe to study at centres of Catholic Education and returned to share their Catholic learning with Irish men, women and children in Hedge Schools or in sheds behind houses. The teachers were compensated with food and accommodation.

The Education Act of 1831  

The English Government decided in 1831 that it would provide funding for the education of all denominations and within the nineteenth century primary schools were being built in every parish of Ireland. At the time 95% of the population was Catholic, therefore 95% of the parents were Catholic and 95% of all primary schools were Catholic.   Today certain voices proclaim that 95% of our schools are Catholic because bishops and priests want control of Catholic Education in Ireland. This is a rather unfair representation of the facts. 95% of our schools are Catholic because in the past 95% of our parents wanted Catholic Education for their children. The future of Catholic Education is in the power of parents and not of bishops and priests. No doubt into the future parents will be interviewed as to what type of schools they want for their children. Will the Catholic Ethos of a school be of prime importance in their choice?  

Change of Culture  

Today it is obvious that many of our parents are no longer practising and no longer want Catholic education for their children. That, of course is their right. We have in Ireland families of different religions like Muslims and Hindus and indeed families of no religion. They too have a right to have their children educated in the schools of their choice.  

The Rights of the Majority Matter  

While the Government has an obligation, in so far as possible, to provide the kind of education that parents require, the rights of the few can never be allowed to undermine a system of education that has served our people so beautifully through the centuries.   Writing in the “Irish Times” some years ago Sarah Carey wrote that our primary school system of education is the envy of Europe. Indeed some European countries have sought to emulate our system and failed. It is a community-based system with over twenty thousand volunteers involved throughout the country.  

The Government & Catholic Schools  

The present Minister for Education has said that the State will take over 50% of our Catholic Schools. One wonders what reason he had for making this statement. Certainly the State must provide some schools for children of other religions and of none but where does the figure of 50% come from?  

The Catholic Ethos Enriches the Quality of our Education  

Our teachers endeavour to reach excellence as they educate their children in Irish, English, Maths, History, Geography etc. But they also endeavour through religious education and through every subject on the curriculum to help children have a love in their hearts for God and for each other.  They try to permeate all subjects with the values of the Gospel eg. Truth, Justice, Mercy, Peace and Love.  Values which have survived the test of time. Values, which enrich our living and the society which we are part of.

Challenges of Our Day  

Some commentators today will say that all education should be value-free. Others argue that there is no such thing as value free education. Perhaps it is a case of replacing the values of the Gospel with other values which promote the survival of the fittest and measure success in terms of the money we earn, the house we live in, the car we drive and the power we exercise over others.   Through Catholic Education our children discover that they have a unique God-given beauty and dignity made in the image of God and redeemed in Christ and that their success in life will be measured by what kind of people they have become and how willing they are to help each other on the journey of life. The great question for Catholics is:  “Do we carry in our hearts a love for God and for each other?”  

To Our Parents

I have no doubt whatever that Catholic Education in our schools is at risk today. In the United States in their public schools the name of God cannot be mentioned, no Christian symbols can be displayed eg. a crucifix and no prayers can be taught or recited. Is this what we want in our Irish schools? This is what we will get if parents are not sufficiently informed about the educational opportunity a catholic school offers. Catholic parents have a grave responsibility to give serious thought to the type of school they want for their children.   Catholic schools offer a unique environment in which children can grow in faith and love. Faith in their hearts which will help them see who they are, who God is and what they are called to be. Faith which gives them a vision and outlook that helps them see what is the meaning of life and the purpose of death. Faith which challenges them to think about the type of people they want to be in life and the type of values they want to live life by. Values such as love, Justice, Peace, forgiveness and a concern for and outreach to the most vulnerable of our fellow human beings.   Education in English, Irish, Maths, History and Geography are important if one wishes to secure a job and earn a living. But Maths, Irish and English are of little value when the challenges and crosses of life confront us – when we suffer the death of a loved one or the diagnosis of a terminal illness. It is then that our faith and trust in God becomes of paramount importance.                 

To Members of Our Boards of Management  

 To all of you who are members of Boards of Management of our primary and secondary schools you have a sacred responsibility to ensure that the Catholic ethos permeates the very atmosphere of your schools. Try to help the children realise that each one of them is special and unique, that each one of them is called to make a contribution in life that no other person can make and that each one of them is called through baptism to bring God’s love to each other in the ordinary everyday events of life.