School Patronage - The Answer Already Decided?

This report from the Irish Times is of interest - it describes how a group is being established to examine how the patronage of some Irish primary schools might be transferred away from the Catholic Church (or more precisely, the local bishop) in order to better represent the religious make-up of Ireland and in order to afford choice to parents who may wish to have their children educated in a school with a non-Catholic ethos.

A word of explanation may be needed for non-Irish readers - the Article 42 of the Constitution of Ireland says the following about education:

42: The State acknowledges that the primary and natural educator of the child is the Family and guarantees to respect the inalienable right and duty of parents to provide, according to their means, for the religious and moral, intellectual, physical and social education of their children.

42.2: Parents shall be free to provide this education in their homes or in private schools or in schools recognised or established by the State.

The State shall not oblige parents in violation of their conscience and lawful preference to send their children to schools established by the State, or to any particular type of school designated by the State.

The State shall, however, as guardian of the common good, require in view of actual conditions that the children receive a certain minimum education, moral, intellectual and social.

The State shall provide for free primary education and shall endeavour to supplement and give reasonable aid to private and corporate educational initiative, and, when the public good requires it, provide other educational facilities or institutions with due regard, however, for the rights of parents, especially in the matter of religious and moral formation.

In exceptional cases, where the parents for physical or moral reasons fail in their duty towards their children, the State as guardian of the common good, by appropriate means shall endeavour to supply the place of the parents, but always with due regard for the natural and imprescriptible rights of the child."

It should be noted that the State is not charged directly with providing primary (elementary) education, but rather should 'provide for' - in other words, co-operation with religious and other groups in terms of the provision of education is explicitly foreseen.
So it is that most Irish primary schools - 90% or so - come under the patronage of the local Catholic Bishop or a religious order. The other 10% are mostly Protestant schools, interdeminational/nondenominational schools or schools established for the promotion of the Irish language.
Now, it should be noted that the State funds all these different sorts of schools in an even-handed manner. Our primary education system is almost entirely state-funded. Likewise, the curriculum and most of the regulations to do with running the schools come from the Department of Education and not the patron. So, it would be a mistake to suggest that these schools are CONTROLLED by one religious group or another. [The last line of the news report is a nonsense - the Department of Education has much more 'control' in the schools than the Church.] However, the Patrons (religious and otherwise) are key to the management and ethos of the schools. So, a school under Catholic patronage would have daily Catholic religious education and prayers. The school would play an active part in the life of the parish and should be expected to have a Catholic spirit. Non-Catholic pupils are welcome in our Catholic schools, of course, and parents may opt their children out of Catechism classes and so on. In general, I would argue that our schools are very accommodating and Christian in the welcome they give to non-Catholic students and the way in which the reasonable rights and expectations of parents are respected. This is especially important in areas where there is no alternative to the local Catholic primary schools.
I mentioned management earlier - whilst a Catholic primary school is funded by the State and is subject to a state curriculum and regulations, it is actually managed by a Board of Management on behalf of the Patron (local Bishop). It is an 8-member board. The Chairperson and one other board member are directly nominated by the Patron. (Normally the local priest and a local layperson are the bishop's nominees.) The school principal and a teacher also sit on the board. Parents nominate two members and these six members select the final two members from the local community. The management of the school, therefore, is very representative of the various parties who have a strong and genuine interest in the school itself - an excellent example of subsidiarity and local involvement.

Anyway, it has been clear for a number of years that the de facto monopoly of Catholic primary schools wasn't meeting the needs of parents in some parts of the country. The idea of parental choice in these matters is something that co-incides nicely with Catholic thought, so the Irish Bishops have said that they are open to transferring the patronage of some schools. I think that it's probably fair to say as well that some schools have found it difficult to maintain their Catholic identity/ethos when a large proportion of the students attending are non-Catholic, so this transfer of patronage could also be seen as facilitating the strengthening the ethos of those schools which remain under Catholic patronage. Parents would have to chose to send their children to a Catholic primary school, rather than sending their children to a local Catholic school because the only schools out there are Catholic. Similarly, teachers would be choosing to teach at a Catholic primary school rather than just accepting at job at a Catholic school because there are no other teaching posts available.

However, this report from the Irish Times is worrying in that it states that the Minister for Education wants to see 'at least half' of the schools currently under Catholic patronage to be move to some other form of patronage. In other words, less than 45% of Irish primary schools would remain in Catholic patronage. One wonders how he came up with that figure and why he thinks that it is fitting that he should announce the answer before the body investigating the question has even met. When you consider the fact that most small rural primary schools are very embedded in the life of their local parish, it doesn't make sense to suggest that their patronage should be transferred. In the main, parents, teachers and community are happy with the status quo. So, does the Minister have his figures wrong or is there something more ideological behind his statement?

Maynooth Seminary to Close?

There's an interesting report on the Irish Catholic website suggesting that Ireland's largest seminary may be closed as a result of the recent visitation by Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York.

The national seminary, which has educated Irishmen for the priesthood since 1795, may be set for closure after the recent Apostolic Visitation by New York's Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan. It is expected the report will recommend that Pope Benedict XVI move all Irish seminarians to a reformed and restructured Pontifical Irish College in Rome.
The historic shift would bring an end to concerns about falling academic standards at Maynooth and claims by some that the college in no longer 'fit for mission'. One senior academic told The Irish Catholic that the Apostolic Visitors were ''appalled'' by some of the standards in Maynooth. Rome would give access to heavyweight universities under direct scrutiny from the Vatican.
It is understood the plan would include the Irish College in Rome dramatically reducing the number of non-Irish students enrolled in the seminary to make way for the seminarians from Maynooth.

I can imagine that this news won't go down well as many Maynooth graduates won't want to see their Alma Mater closed. It's interesting that the focus of the article is on the academic shortcomings of the Pontifical University. Whether Maynooth had sufficient weight to be considered a viable Pontifical University is something that I've heard quietly discussed for years.
One wonders what Archbishop Dolan's report will have to say regarding formation in Maynooth and the other Irish seminaries (Rome & Belfast).

Incidentally, speaking of Archbishop Dolan, his St Patrick's Day Letter this year is a very fine reflection on the Sacrament of Confession. I'm loath to quote selectively from it, so go and read the whole thing.

[Anyone want to lay a bet on how quickly the Association of 'Catholic' Priests will be in putting together a whine about Rome suppressing Maynooth?]

Edited to add: The President of Maynooth says the report is 'without foundation'.

Dorothy Cummings McLean on Spirit Radio this Friday

Be sure and listen to Spirit Radio this Friday morning at 10.00am. There will be an interview with Dorothy Cummings McLean who writes (with humour and sanity!) about the single life from a Catholic perspective.

And with your spirit!

It's a shame that those who are less than enthusiastic about the new translation of the Roman Missal are making all the noise... This homily by Bishop Conley (Auxiliary in Denver) certainly explains why we should be enthusiastic about the new translation.

When we celebrate the Eucharist, the pope says, we are “entering into the liturgy of the heavens that has always been taking place. Earthly liturgy is liturgy because and only because it joins what is already in process, the greater reality”.13

To drive this point home, our new Mass translation replaces the mundane affirmation – “Happy are those who are called to His supper” – with a confession of faith worthy of the cosmic character of our celebration.

We are not “happy”. We are blessed. We have not been called to any ordinary meal. No, we have been invited to the great banquet of our heavenly King, the wedding feast of His Son, our Redeemer.

Accordingly, we will now pray: “Blessed are those called to the Supper of the Lamb”. Again, the prayer has been there all along in the Latin. The language is an almost literal quotation from the revelation of the heavenly liturgy given to Saint John in the Book of Revelation.14

In the holy Mass heaven reaches down to earth and earth reaches up to heaven. We are worshipping not only in our local church, but in the precincts of Mount Zion, “the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and [with] innumerable angels in festal gathering, and [with] the Church of first-born who are enrolled in heaven.”15

That is how the early Christians understood their worship. And it’s time for us to reclaim that same consciousness. We need to come to our worship filled with this same awe for the mystery of God’s love and His covenant plan.

Amen!

A Challenging Read...

There's an interesting article in the Homiletic and Pastoral review by a Fr Ference entitled Why Vocation Programs Don't Work.  One could certainly transpose this article into an Irish key and ask why the life of the Irish Church seems to be in terminal decline.

The root of our current vocation problem is a lack of discipleship. Of course, a disciple is one who encounters Jesus, repents, experiences conversion and then follows Jesus. All too often those of us in positions of Church leadership presume that all the folks in the pews on Sundays, all the children in our grade schools, high schools and PSR programs, all the kids in our youth groups, all the men in our Men’s Clubs and all the women in our Women’s Guilds, and all the members of our RCIA team are already disciples. Many are not. (The same can be said of staffs and faculties of Catholic institutions.) Our people may be very active in the programs of our parishes, schools and institutions, but unfortunately, such participation does not qualify for discipleship.

Read the whole thing and I think you'll find that the discipleship orientation proposed by Fr Ference seems to resonate much more strongly with the Sermon on the Mount than the suggestions coming from some other quarters about a path to renewal.

No 'Ghosts' in Michaela's Story

The bloggers over at Get Religion often talk about 'ghosts' - religious aspects and angles to media stories which are overlooked.  I think it's worth noting that the Irish media haven't done badly in reporting the religious 'angle' following the recent death of Michaela McAreavey.
Michaela was the daughter of popular Gaelic Football manager Mickey Harte and newly-wed wife to John McAreavey, Gaelic footballer and nephew to the Bishop of Dromone.  While the couple were on their honeymoon, Micheala was murdered in what seems to be a petty theft gone wrong. Needless to say, the whole country has been shocked by this sudden and brutal event.
It's been notable that the bereaved families and communities have been using the language of faith in their public statements to the media.  It has been notable too that the press haven't shied away from reporting on Michaela's strong Catholic faith and the assistance provided by the Church community at this time.  A good example is this linked article from the Irish Independent.  

Within an hour of Michaela's body being found in Mauritius, news of her death reverberated across sporting and political circles in Ireland, making the news by midday. It wasn't just the shattered promise and optimism of a couple of newly-weds on honeymoon that resonated, or the fact that she was the daughter of the legendary Tyrone football manager, Mickey Harte. She was also a beautiful, fashion-mad young woman, who was also a devout Catholic and a fluent Irish speaker, a pioneer and a huge GAA fan: for many people, she represented a side of Ireland that isn't often so evident these days.
She was Mickey and Marian Harte's only daughter, sandwiched between three brothers, Mark, Michael and Matthew. She was raised in the village of Ballygawley, a close-knit community with an active parish, and educated by the Loreto nuns in Omagh and later completed her teacher training with the order. She taught Irish at St Patrick's Academy in Dungannon at the time of her death.
[snip]

Francis Downey, a childhood friend of John's, summed her up last week: "She should be remembered as the nicest person you could ever meet. She was a loving woman, she loved her family, she loved football, she loved religion. She would have done anything to help anyone."
He said that John was a "lad's lad" until he clapped eyes on Michaela when they were both students at Queen's University Belfast in 2005. She was studying to be a teacher; he was reading business.
She was a devout Catholic: he was nicknamed the Bishop, after his uncle, Bishop John McAreavey. They went out together for three years before they got engaged. He brought her to Paris and proposed. They married two years later, on December 30, in Michaela's local parish, at St Malachy's Church in Ballymacilroy, Co Tyrone.
They were to move into their new house in Banbridge, Co Down. Their friend, Eamonn, told how he had already helped them to move in some of their things before the wedding, and how John was "happy as Larry", fussing about the heating and making sure everything was just so.
The Bishop of Dromore, John McAreavey, who married the couple, said that she was the love of his life, "absolutely and truly".
"He adored her and talked about her with such warmth. He loved everything about her: her faith, her personality, her love for things Gaelic and Irish, her sparkle. I have a sense that a light has gone out with the death of Michaela," he said.
Mickey Harte seemed proof of that when emerged from his home in Ballygawley, flanked by his two sons, to read a statement to the media on Tuesday. He appeared shrunken and pale, his face contorted into bewildered grief, as he spoke of his loss.
"Michaela was a lovely girl, a wonderful daughter, a brilliant sister for these boys and we will always treasure her. She was a beautiful girl. She couldn't be better, couldn't be nicer. God love her, we are so, so sorry.
"We are equally sorry for poor John, her husband, whom she adored. He adored her. They did not get so long to share their lives with each other. It is such a shame. Our hearts are broken."
He pleaded with the media to "lay off" John. "John is out in Mauritius. He is isolated out there. It has been an awful time. Our hearts go out to him and I would ask everyone to please respect his privacy. . . Please lay off. We are speaking on his behalf. We are devastated. Through us, he wants to say to leave him alone. He is in such a lonely place and even his own family members are not out there yet."
But the Catholic community had already rallied its forces, something Michaela, would have no doubt appreciated. Michaela was a former Loreto girl and the order happened to have four Irish nuns stationed in a convent in Mauritius. Sister Noelle Corscadden, with the Loreto Sisters in Rathfarnham, contacted them. So too had parishioners in Ballygawley; one of the nuns, Sister Theresa Clarke, was from originally Tyrone and many local parishioners stayed in touch.
And so first thing Tuesday morning, three Irish nuns left their convent in the central plains of Mauritius and set off for the north-east coast, and Legends Hotel, to offer comfort to Michaela's heart-broken husband. They talked at length and later they brought him to Mass in a nearby parish. They returned over the following days, offering solace and prayers, as family and relatives began to arrive from Ireland. They included his brother, Michaela's brother and his father, who had been holidaying in Thailand with his mother. An Irish priest with the Holy Ghost Fathers in Mauritius stayed by John's side for three days. Even the local parish priest, Fr Jaques Harel, who celebrated a Mass in honour of Michaela at the hotel on Thursday, had trained in Ireland. Michaela was apparently the first tourist to be murdered in Mauritius in living memory. For a small African island dependent on affluent visitors to its luxury spas to shore up its emerging economy, her death was not only a human tragedy but a diplomatic incident that required fast action.

May the Lord grant her eternal rest and support to her grieving family.

Happy New Year & A Blessed Epiphany...

I'd like to wish the two or three people who wander by here a Happy New Year and a Blessed Epiphany.  We call the latter Women's Christmas or Nollaig na mBan in this part of Ireland.  I told my parishioners that today is a lovely day to give thanks again for Christ's coming among us as Light to the Nations in a more low-key and demanding way than Christmas Day itself.  (Thus, Women's Christmas when busy mothers should have the chance to have a rest a celebration.)

In parish news, we had a most unusual group of people auditioning for our choir recently:

Alas, it's not quite what we're looking for.