CHILDREN “HAVE a right to be trained and formed in the worship and prayer of the faith community to which they belong”, Catholic primate Cardinal Seán Brady has said.“I believe we should never apologise for insisting that our rights as a community of faith are respected and treated on the same basis as the rights of others. This is what we expect from a society which claims to respect pluralism and diversity,” he said.
“All parents, whatever their denominational background, have this right to have their children educated in accordance with their religious convictions.
“This right is recognised in international instruments of human rights, including the European Convention on Human Rights.”
Speaking to the Catholic Principals’ Association conference in Cookstown, Co Tyrone, yesterday, he said: “We should never apologise for our convictions about Catholic education. I suggest rather that we reflect upon its proud history, its purpose and achievements.”
He continued that “renewing our stewardship of Catholic schools has to involve renewing our commitment to respecting and promoting the right of children in our schools to be led and formed in authentic worship of God in the Catholic tradition”.
That, he said, was “not some optional extra. Children and their parents have a right to expect a Catholic school to provide children with a formation in prayer and worship”.
He called on the principals “to support the trustees of Catholic schools in their efforts to ensure that the ethos and defining character of Catholic schools are maintained in any process of restructuring and change in education policy or provision. That ethos and character are entrusted to trustees for protection. I believe they are to be conserved conscientiously and scrupulously”.
He said that “consequently, the trustees will not support any change in management arrangements for Catholic schools in Northern Ireland which undermines existing rights of trustees in relation to employment, management or area planning.
“The Catholic community has invested too much in their schools and in securing recognition for the rights of Catholic education to now see those rights diminished.”
He continued: “We will not support any proposal which diminishes the current legislative status of the Catholic network of schools or the existing rights of Catholic trustees in respect of employment, management or area based planning.”
Catholic trustees would also continue to support efforts of the Protestant churches to have their rights respected, he said.
It was “vital that we support each other in upholding the principle that parents have a right to schools which promote a religious ethos”.
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