The Church has failed parents in helping them to educate their children about faith, according to Archbishop Diarmuid Martin. Archbishop Martin said parents ''lose their nerve'' when it comes to speaking about faith to their children because ''the Church has let them down by providing very few services to help them in their task as religious educators.''
Speaking at a conference on Catholic education on Monday, he said the structures of Catholic education policy must dedicate much more time and expertise to working with parents.
''What are we to do about a Catholic school system and catechetical programmes which have produced the largest cohort of un-churched young people in recent Irish history?''
''Irish children are among the most catechised but are not among the most evangelised,'' he said.
Defence
In one of the strongest defences to date of Catholic school identity, Archbishop Martin said the survival of Catholic education in Ireland ''will not depend on it fitting in to an overall pluralist or secularist philosophy, but on it being fully Catholic, bringing that specific contribution of the message of Jesus Christ to society''.
''Pluralism does not mean watering down identity. Indeed, a Catholic school which waters down its identity waters down its real contribution to society and renders itself useless.''
Also at the conference, Bishop of Kilmore, Leo O'Reilly said the faith deficit of teachers was an area that ''required attention''.
According to a survey published in August by the Irish Primary Principals Network (IPPN) of 750 principals, 23 per cent said that the enthusiasm, willingness, competency and suitability of teachers to undertake faith formation and religious instruction is decreasing.
Another IPPN survey found that 39% of parents believed preparation of sacraments should be the responsibility of parents and clergy outside of schools hours compared to 56% who thought they should be taught by the teachers during school hours.
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(Source: IC)