IT would be a great pity if failures by church leaders were to have a serious negative impact on Catholic schools.One of the most notable contributions of the Church -- nationally and internationally -- is in the area of education.
Why is it that, throughout the world, Catholic schools are so popular? Why is it that many non-Catholics want such an education for their children?
It is surely because parents appreciate the values and quality of the education provided and it is difficult to believe that so many parents could get such an important decision so wrong.
Everyone should be mindful when it comes to schools. Change needs to be thought through carefully.
A few facts are of note. There are about 3,000 Catholic primary schools in this State. That means that there are close to 20,000 volunteers acting on boards of management.
They receive no pay, no travel expenses and no subsistence.
Of these 3,000 schools, about 1,500 have less than 100 pupils and some 650 have less than 50 pupils. Some 100 of these have less than 20 pupils.
The remarkable thing is that they are managed so well and at such little cost.
In fact, based on our current local structures of patrons and boards, the management of these Catholic primary schools costs the State effectively nothing.
This is quite remarkable in a country where all political leaders admit that public services must become less expensive to operate and become more responsive to people's needs.
Where is the evidence in any walk of Irish life demonstrating a capacity to motivate such a level of volunteerism?
The only other example on such a scale is the GAA and it is notably rooted in the same parish structure as the Church.
What would happen to all of the small schools around the country if the system of church patronage was removed?
In many local communities the only infrastructures remaining are schools and churches. Cut the link between them and many places may end up with nothing.
There are, of course, those who want the Catholic Church to have no role in schools.
Many of them are using the current crisis in church leadership to try to orchestrate change. So it is important to understand how the present system operates.
In schools, patrons and boards of management have very distinct functions. A patron is an individual or a body who establishes a recognised school.
Such patrons at primary level include Catholic bishops, the Church of Ireland, Educate Together, An Foras Patrunachta and the Muslim community.
Patrons must run schools which are "recognised" -- the school must be operated in accord with Section 9 of the Education Act.
It is the responsibility of the Education and Science Minister to grant such recognition and to withdraw it.
In principle, any individual or body can apply to the minister to be registered as a patron and then seek to have the school established by this patronage and recognised as a school under the Education Act.
Persons or bodies, Catholic or otherwise, can only act as patron if recognised and registered as such by the minister.
All patrons are fully accountable to the law of the land for the role they exercise for the schools under their patronage. However, in every school, no matter who the patron is, responsibility for running the school rests with the board of management.
In the appointment of boards at primary level, the patron's role is limited. In common with other patron bodies, Catholic patrons nominate only two people in a board made up of eight members. While the patron appoints all the board members these appointments are subject to the sanction of the minister.
With regard to child protection guidelines in schools, the Department of Education and Science (DES) issued 'Child Protection Guidelines and Procedures' to all primary schools in 2001 and, in 2004, the 'Child Protection Guidelines for Post-Primary Schools' were published.
These guidelines and procedures were based on the State's 'Children First' guidelines, which were issued in 1999 by the Department of Health and Children.
The board of management of a school appoints a designated liaison person, usually the principal, who deals with the HSE and the gardai.
This person is responsible for reporting to the authorities. The guidelines and procedures also set out the steps to be taken by the school in dealing with allegations of child abuse. School policies and their implementation are monitored by the DES inspectorate in whole school evaluations.
As a society we need to plan now for the future to achieve pluralism of education provision. In this way parents can choose, as far as possible, what kind of school their children will attend.
Parental choice in education is recognised in most democracies and enshrined in our Constitution, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and in United Nations and European legal instruments.
In a changing Ireland, additional forms of patronage need to emerge.
Last month, discussions began between Catholic school patrons and the Department of Education and Science about the possible transfer of patronage in some schools.
Underpinning the adequate provision of education are two necessary criteria: the need to plan locally and the importance of parental choice. But all parents' choices must be respected, including Catholic parents.
To date no school has sought a change in its Catholic patronage; in fact the trend has gone the other way, with some existing schools wanting to come under such patronage.
Maybe we could learn something from second level, where we already have a diverse system with multiple providers.
Within the Catholic sector, major re-organisation of the patronage structure is under way as religious congregations establish new trustee bodies.
One significant result of this will be lay people taking on further leadership roles in all aspects of Catholic schools.
In Ireland we have thousands of well-functioning schools under Catholic patronage. Those who seek radical change in this area should be careful what they wish for.
A primary school system rooted in local communities serving a dispersed population at little or no cost in terms of patronage and management is a notable reality. Its value to the common good is unquantifiable.
It would be all too easy to tear it apart.
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