Dublin Catholic archdiocese pilot enrolment plan

CitizenPaine · **Joined:** Sun Oct 29, 2006 8:49 pm **Posts:** 462

According to news reports the Catholic archdiocese of Dublin is to start a "pilot" program where a quota system will be put in place to reserve places for non-Catholic children in primary schools.

What's going on here? These are state funded schools. Why do we need a quota system? Why not have enrolment on a first come first served basis and simply ignore the religion the child was born into?

Quotas have been traditionaly used for fomerly disadvantaged minorities, or so-called "second-class citizens". By putting forward this "solution" the Catholic archdiocese is implying that non-Catholics are exactly that - second class citizens.

It would, of course, be too much to expect that the Department of Education would take responsibility in this matter.

CitizenPaine

lostexpectation · **Joined:** Wed Feb 07, 2007 11:28 pm **Posts:** 1993

yes they are trying to show the benevolence but they just entrenching their position

http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0123/schools.htm
the principal seemed quite sure it was church position to decide these things

Vincent Browne had a bit on this on his news nightly news show, he's been doing a few bits on the church re compensation etc I hear from his ads although I missed them.

he might have an article on it in one of usual places soon.

anyway they had on a principal of school he previously had to resign when he was told to simply put the non-christian children out of the classroom while doing confirmation preparation. He didn't think the other children should loose out on education time for the ske of the dominant religion in that school.

the other guest was the former editor of the Irish catholic, VB gave him a very hard time, VB is total grump very fond of his own opinion but he put the secular point of view across very well.

he kept asking this guy why should the unelected bishop still control the schools and the catholic guy said well if they want to start the old schools they can, totally ignoring that 98% of schools are catholic and the difficulty in starting a new school.

basically the catholic guy kept repeating that, they can start a school if they want to, so can COI or Jewish even, he gave a figure of 88% peopel still considering themselves catholic and that parents obviously still choose catholic schools, again ignoring the lack of choice. he said if parents anted to change the schools they could but VB pointed out there was no mechanism for removing bishops from control of schools.

VB again said the state should take responsibility or a board of management made up of parents or other community reps, note one of the biggest lefty in the country and still he isn't suggesting the state should totally take over schools over and above parents.

VB could hardly say a sentence without tripping over his words... v.strange

its pity they don't have they shows for replay on the web, but you might see a omibus edition at the weekend.

http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analy ... 72514.html

Quote:

For the first time, a respectable middle-class Irish Catholic mother living in Dublin West may find her child being excluded next September from enrolment in her national school, in order to make space for newly arrived immigrants.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news ... 72595.html

Quote:

There are 189 junior infant places available in the schools next September, and the policy will work like this:

l two-thirds of places will go to the 126 eldest Catholic children on a particular cut-off date

l the 63 remaining places will be offered to children of other faiths, and none, who are four on, or before, the cut-off date

l if more than 63 qualify, the oldest will have precedence; if fewer than 63 qualify, the places will be allocated to children of all faiths, in descending order of age

l siblings will have priority in all cases

more highligthing of the disaster the is he ministry for education

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaki ... king27.htm

Quote:

Population growth and the lack of any new school places in the immediate area, has led to "huge pressure" on school places in St Patrick's and St Mochta's national schools, the archdiocese said today.

The schools' patron, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, said the schools would maintain their "clear Catholic ethos and identity".

lostexpectation · **Joined:** Wed Feb 07, 2007 11:28 pm **Posts:** 1993

Speaking at the Irish Primary Principals Network conference in Killarney, Cardinal Brady said he makes no apology for defending the right of Catholic parents and others to ensure an education for their children which conforms with their own religious and philosophical convictions.

“I unapologetically call on Catholic parents to support their Catholic schools as an inseparable part of their baptismal call to bring their children up in the atmosphere and ethos of the Catholic community, rooted in the Gospel of justice, truth, tolerance and love,” he said.

http://clericalwhispers.blogspot.com/20 ... e-non.html

lostexpectation · **Joined:** Wed Feb 07, 2007 11:28 pm **Posts:** 1993

http://clericalwhispers.blogspot.com/20 ... holic.html

Quote:

The news comes as Labour leader Eamon Gilmore praised the Archbishop of Dublin Dr Diarmuid Martin for his comments on Thursday which called for Catholic schools to embrace diversity and avoid becoming elitist.

Archbishop Martin said he was disappointed whenever parents opted for certain Catholic schools as a method to avoid integration.

Mr Gilmore said Archbishop Martin had shown greater leadership than the Government on the issue of inter-religious education.

“It would seem that Archbishop Diarmuid Martin is more advanced in his thinking on the role of the denominational education and the integration of migrants than the Department of Education, the Department of Justice and the Department of the Taoiseach combined,” he said.

Mr Gilmore was speaking at a debate in University College Dublin on the subject of the role the Catholic Church has played in Irish society.

He told his audience he was proud of his track record in promoting secularisation and efforts to separate religion from Irish politics.

However, he said given the culture of violence at the moment it was important young people still had a place to turn to for guidance on moral values and that the Catholic Church has a role to play.

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Dublin Catholic archdiocese pilot enrolment plan

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