Let me begin by saying how much we appreciate your presence here this morning. Your role in helping parents and other key stakeholders understand the range of issues facing education in Northern Ireland is critical. I appeal to you to do justice to the full truth of what is at issue here. Providing an education system in Northern Ireland fit for purpose in the 21st century.  That is the challenge and it simply cannot be reduced to a narrow debate about academic selection or who is on one side or another of a political divide. There is so, so much more at stake.

As Trustees of Catholic schools we come to this and other questions as educationalists. Our vision of education is based on the values of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Our primary concern is ensuring the best possible education for every child. For every child is made in the image and likeness of God.  We all have a profound duty of care to every child in our society. We can only fulfil that duty if we take account of all of the issues which influence the quality of education and its future provision.

That is why society needs to re-dimension the debate about academic selection. We need to locate it in the wider context of all the challenges which confront education in Northern Ireland at this time.  The debate cannot be confined to academic selection at age eleven.

For example, any effective reshaping of the future has to take account of the impact of the demographic downturn on the intake of secondary and grammar schools in every sector. The reality is that as school numbers go down some Grammar schools are effectively becoming all-ability schools. Should this be allowed to happen at the expense of resources, staffing and perhaps the very future of many existing secondary schools? Is a more strategic, inclusive collaborative solution not possible, one which takes account of the particular needs, infrastructure and resources of a local area? It is also a fact that many all-ability post-primary schools are also high performing schools in terms of academic results. We have to be honest and face this reality. We have to be just and fair to all schools.

Planning for a better future also has to take account of the obligations arising from the Department of Education’s Entitlement Framework.  That Framework aims to provide access to a wider range of subjects for every pupil. Planning also has to take account of the Sustainable Schools policy which suggests that schools should operate with a minimum number of 500 pupils at age 11-16 and 100 at post-16. It has to take account of an area-based approach to planning and the duty on all schools to contribute to greater cohesion, integration and sharing.

In establishing the Post-Primary Review initiative, this is what the Catholic Trustees have sought to do, to take account of all the relevant issues. As far back as September 2006, the Northern Ireland Commission for Catholic Education (NICCE) launched a comprehensive review of Catholic-managed post-primary education across Northern Ireland. The Review has involved post-primary Principals, Boards of Governors and Trustees working together to identify options or proposals for the future delivery of high quality post-primary Catholic education in sixteen project areas.

Supported by the Department of Education the review has been closely linked to work being developed with other educational partners. It is the culmination of the efforts of the Catholic sector to contribute strategically to the challenges facing all who deliver and manage the education of our children. 

The review has been guided at all times by the Commission’s Core Principles. These principles state that any arrangements for post-primary education should:

•    Optimise high quality education provision and excellence in outcomes for all pupils;
•    Actively promote justice, reconciliation, mutual understanding, solidarity, inclusive communities and be part of a genuinely pluralist provision of education;
•    Contribute to the provision of education choices for parents and pupils; and
•    Be the result of transparent consultative processes.

It is in keeping with this commitment to transparent consultative processes that today we are launching a comprehensive consultation exercise on the preliminary proposals from each of the sixteen project areas. This is the widest consultation exercise ever undertaken by the Catholic Trustees on the future of Catholic Schools in Northern Ireland. We want the consultation to be as inclusive as possible. We want to hear from parents, pupils, teachers, other school staff members and Boards of Governors. It is particularly important that local Catholic Primary Schools make their views known on the proposals.

The document you have received this morning called Education For All: Shaping the future of post-primary Catholic Education, will be distributed widely to the Principals of all Catholic Primary and Post-Primary schools in Northern Ireland along with the project proposals for their particular area. The Principals will be asked to ensure that all staff members receive a copy and all parents of children at their school. The decisions we reach at the conclusion of this consultation process will shape the delivery of Catholic education in Northern Ireland for decades to come. We especially wish parents to engage and consider the options and give their views on these important issues.

Critically, we wish to hear from other educational stakeholders and from other schools in the local areas for which each proposal has been developed. Plans are being made to ensure that they too have an opportunity to comment on the proposals and to shape the outcome of this process. This includes the views of Teacher Unions and the Education and Library Boards. The material will also be available on the web site of the Post Primary Review Project and of the Catholic Commission so that the wider public can contribute their views.

I want to stress this morning that this is an initial consultation and it is an inclusive consultation. The Catholic Trustees want to explore with all other school providers how we can co-operate in new and creative ways to provide the best possible education for every child – for all children – in each local area. We have been and will continue throughout this process to consult beyond the Catholic network of schools and to explore new ways of sharing resources, facilities and personnel at local level to ensure that the best possible education for all children in our society is achieved.

This marks a very significant development in our approach to the future of Catholic Education in Northern Ireland. It signals our commitment to consider new ways of building relationships which contribute to good relations based on the Christian virtues of good neighbourliness, mutual respect and reconciliation. I believe an exciting and better future can be achieved if we approach the challenges which confront all schools in Northern Ireland with a sense of responsibility for each other and for every child in our society. New models of provision can be achieved without compromise to cherished values and the right to schools with a particular denominational ethos. The Catholic Trustees are signalling today their willingness to think outside the box on these issues and to engage in wide ranging discussion about how together we can provide the best education for every child in Northern Ireland.

It is in this spirit, that I also take this opportunity to appeal to our locally elected representatives. I appeal to our politicians to move beyond the narrow focus on academic selection and to engage in a wider, more inclusive discussion about how together we can provide the best possible system of education for every child in Northern Ireland. You cannot provide a viable answer to the question of academic selection without considering a range of other issues, including the dramatic impact of the demographic downturn on existing secondary schools as well as sustainability and new curriculum entitlements at a local level.

Allowing parents and others to believe that this issue is only about the future of grammar schools is a disservice to them and to the complexity of the issues involved. We need a more mature, responsible, inclusive and wide-ranging debate. The delivery of post primary education is about so, so much more than academic selection.

In establishing the Post-Primary Review and initiating an inclusive and wide ranging discussion about provision in each local area, I hope that the Catholic Trustees have made a contribution to moving the current debate on to a wider and more helpful level about what will provide a better future for every child in our society.

As is pointed out in the document you have received, Catholic Education for All, our objective is to provide solutions in local areas which will help schools deliver several core benefits to all pupils in that area. These include:

•    Opportunities for every young person to develop their full potential;
•    The opportunity for every child in a Catholic School to receive a quality education in modern, well-equipped facilities;
•    Increased access for all pupils to high quality academic and applied educational pathways;
•    An effective transition from primary through post-primary to third level education and employment in the 21st century;
•    A network of quality schools guaranteeing access to a curriculum that will meet the needs of all pupils within the context of the Entitlement Framework.
•    Effective collaborative links with other education providers through Area Learning Communities and new, creative structures of mutual support and sharing.

This can only be achieved if we address all of these issues together. It will not be achieved without a significant shift in the way our facilities are currently organised, managed and maintained. Determining the best route through that change is the fundamental objective of this consultation process and of the Post-Primary Review.

In concluding, let me say, on behalf of the Northern Ireland Commission for Catholic Education, how grateful we are to Mrs Deirdre McDonald, Principal of St. Catherine’s College and to her staff for making the College and its facilities available to us this morning. St. Catherine’s College is an outstanding all-ability Catholic Post-Primary school. It is a good example of the partnership between Catholic Primary and Post-primary schools, and between Catholic schools and other schools in the local area which as Trustees we want to encourage into the future. St. Catherine’s has also made the journey from a system of academic selection at age eleven to all-ability post-primary education. In 1973 the Sacred Heart Secondary Intermediate School and the Sacred Heart Grammar School amalgamated into the all-ability school we are in today, St. Catherine’s College, Convent of the Sacred Heart. It has done so with outstanding success. For example, last year alone no fewer than five students from St. Catherine’s achieved top marks in Northern Ireland in this summer’s CCEA examinations. Just as importantly, pupils in this school are encouraged to develop their full range of gifts and talents and to celebrate and respect the particular talents of others. Through the establishment of a highly successful co-educational Irish medium stream St Catherine’s has also played a major role in providing new forms of education provision for a wider catchment area than just its own.

Dividing schools and pupils into academic and non-academic does not do justice to the complex way in which we now know children progress and develop. There are other schools besides Grammar schools which can provide an excellent academic education for children.

Finally, we have to face the reality that the demographic downturn and the increased demands of the curriculum mean that no school can stand in splendid isolation from others in the search for a system of post-primary provision which values and gives an equal opportunity to every child in our society.

Thank you for listening so patiently. I now invite my colleagues on the panel to address any questions you may wish to ask.

Minister, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am delighted to be with you at this first major Conference organised by the Catholic Principals’ Association. I thank your Chairman, Dr Seamus Quinn for his kind invitation to be here. I offer my congratulations to the organising committee on providing such an impressive two-day programme.

Today I simply want to convey to you the support and gratitude of the Trustees for your outstanding leadership. Your commitment to the mission of Catholic education at this critical time is much appreciated.  The title you have chosen for the Conference is particularly apt – Renewing our Stewardship. We meet in Lent and Lent is a time of renewal. It is a time for honest reflection on how things are going. It is a time in particular, for reflecting on how we are living up to our responsibilities to God, to others and to ourselves. In that context today’s Gospel gives us excellent advice for renewal.  Jesus is delivering the Sermon on the Mount and he says: 

“Ask and it will be given to you;
Seek and you will find:
Knock and it will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives; and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 
What human being among you, when your child asks for a loaf will give them a stone?  Or, if they ask for a fish will you give them a snake? 
So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give good things to those who ask Him”
So I suggest, that in addition to conferencing, this Lent is also a time for prayerful discerning – The question is: how the stakeholders in education may find the right way forward.  That way – I suggest – must take account of the fact that every pupil is made in the image and likeness of God.  Their hearts are restless until they rest in God.  The education that is offered must be fit for purpose at all times and never yield to the temptations to be minimalistic in this regard.

We are also here to talk about stewardship – our shared stewardship of Catholic education.  The word ‘stewardship’ is important and rich in biblical references. A steward is someone who has been given responsibility to administer the Master’s property according to the Master’s instructions. We are talking here about a mission we have received on sacred trust from Jesus Christ.  Jesus called his followers to ‘go out and teach all nations’. We are talking about a sacred trust which has been given to us by the community of Christ’s believers, the Church.  We believe that the Church continues Christ’s mission of truth, justice, mercy and love in the world.

We are also talking about stewardship of a sacred trust given to us by parents.  Parents who wish to have their children educated in a school community defined and inspired by Catholic faith and values on a daily basis. Of course, 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.

Children also have a right to know God. They too have a right to receive the truth and life which God offers them in the Sacred Scriptures, in the sacraments and in prayer. If we really believe that Jesus Christ reveals the whole truth about the human person, then children have a right to receive that truth. If we really believe that the message of Jesus Christ is the key to a better world and the source of our eternal hope, then we also believe children have a right to be part of a school community in which Jesus and his message are lived, respected and promoted. Children also have a right to worship God as part of their daily activity. They have a right to be trained and formed in the worship and prayer of the faith community to which they belong. 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. This is 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. That is why I make a special appeal to you as leaders of your school community to reflect seriously on this essential part of our shared duty of stewardship.

As the Irish Bishops’ Conference said in its Pastoral Letter, VISION 08: A Vision for Catholic Education in Ireland, ‘An education which makes no room to address the fundamental questions about the meaning of life could not be described as seeking [the] holistic development [of its students].’ Catholic schools seek to transform, not only the individual human lives of our pupils, but also, through them, the wider society which they help to build.  For this reason we should never apologise for our convictions about Catholic education.  I suggest rather that we reflect upon its proud history, its purpose and achievements.  That is another reason why I am glad that the Conference is taking place now.  It gives us an opportunity to do exactly that.

Last Sunday I celebrated Confirmation in the parish of Mellifont.  The majestic ruins of the Abbey of Mellifont and Monasterboice were nearby.  These famous monasteries were once centres of prayer but also, in many cases, centres of learning and education.  As we know they were suppressed but the desire for Christian education lived on in the hearts and minds of the people and gradually resurrected itself.  Today I am glad to say that there are Catholic schools flourishing in each of those parishes, lead by competent lay professional educators, staffed by committed, highly trained teachers and managed by dedicated Boards of Management – composed of representatives of parents, teachers and owners – who give of their time and talents – freely and generously for the good of the community.  As someone remarked at a Conference in Dublin recently, they give of their time freely not only to attend meetings of the Boards of Governors but also to make the tea on the Open Nights and other similar occasions.  I say these schools are flourishing because they strive to answer the needs of pupils made in the image of God. 

Like many of you, I have been associated all my life with Catholic schools in one capacity or another – first as a pupil at primary and post-primary, then as a student at university level.  Then came payback time – first as teacher, then as Chair of a Board of Management, and now as a Governor and Trustee.  Of course I don’t have to remind you of what a Trustee is:  someone to whom powers of administration are given in trust with a legal obligation to administer it solely for the purposes specified.  Like the Steward, the Trustee must be faithful to the Trust received.

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. That is why I ask you today 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. 

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. The final position of the Trustees on the proposed Education Bill or on any alternative arrangements which may emerge over coming months will depend on a careful evaluation of the full details of what is proposed. Of course the Trustees will work hard with all other stakeholders to ensure that the provision of Catholic schools continues to be as cost-effective as possible. I believe this is achievable with minimum change to the existing legislative position and management structures of the Catholic network of schools. It is difficult to see how significant change to existing legislative arrangements for the management of Catholic schools can be justified on purely economic grounds.

The Trustees, on behalf of parents who want a Catholic education for their child, worked hard for many years to ensure that the right to have schools which are authentically Catholic was adequately provided for. This is why 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. The Catholic Trustees in Northern Ireland will also continue to support efforts of the Protestant Churches to have their rights with regard to the Controlled sector respected in the context of the Education Bill or any other legislative change.

It is vital that we support each other in upholding the principle that parents have a right to schools which promote a religious ethos. Ethos means the characteristic spirit or attitudes and values of the school. The values around which a particular system of education is based are fundamental to it and to its effectiveness. Time and time again research confirms that a Catholic ‘Ethos adds value’ to a school. Catholic ethos adds value to the educational experience of a child, not just in terms of academic performance but in terms of the complete development of the person – a citizen of the kingdom of God and of a community here on earth of which they can be proud and in which they can be confident participants.

As stewards of Catholic education we can take encouragement from the fact that repeated international surveys confirm the positive impact of the ethos of a Catholic school That impact is seen, for example, in the social concern and tolerance of diversity of pupils who attend them. We must also acknowledge with humility any gap between our ideals and our practice and seek to address those gaps in a supportive and positive way.

This includes reflecting on our commitment to work with each other as a family of Catholic schools, with a responsibility for each other. Commitment to communion and community are defining characteristics of Catholic faith and life. There can be no room within a family of Catholic schools for attitudes of splendid isolation or ‘as long as I am okay, I don’t care about anyone else’. There can be no ‘second class’ Catholic schools. Part of being a Catholic school is to be part of a wider family of Catholic schools who work together to bear common witness to the vision of the Gospel. The Gospel itself calls us to be, in the words of the Second Vatican Council, ‘a sign and instrument both of a very closely knit union with God and of the unity of the whole human race.’ (Lumen Gentium, n.1)  Of course this also means co-operating with all schools, with all those agencies in this noble enterprise that is education for a positive genuine reason.

That is why in recent years the Trustees of Catholic schools have been working hard to bring greater cohesion and unity to the mission and management of Catholic education across Ireland. This has led to the establishment recently of the all-Ireland Catholic Education Service. The CES will work with the Northern Ireland Commission for Catholic Education and the newly established Catholic Schools Partnership in the south, in support of a common vision and approach to Catholic education across the island.

At its core, the vision set out in the document stresses the importance of working together and ensuring effective communication and collaboration with each other at every level.

That is why I also urge you to continue to support the Post-Primary Review process initiated by the Trustees. Next Monday the Trustees will launch a comprehensive consultation on the proposals for each of the sixteen PPR project areas. We hope that everyone with an interest in the future delivery of post-primary Catholic education in Northern Ireland will respond to these proposals. The views of the Catholic Primary school sector are critical to this process. Arrangements have been made to encompass Primary school staff and parents. We also want to hear the views of:

• pupils;
• parents;
• teachers;
• other school staff members;
• Boards of Governors;
• other educational partners; and
• the wider public.

Approaching the issue of academic selection at age in eleven in isolation from the myriad of other changes which confront schools in Northern Ireland is not helpful. I believe the most responsible and effective way to deal with the ‘transfer issue’ is as part of a more comprehensive strategy.  That strategy should take account of the imminent demographic downturn, the demands of the Entitlement Framework, the Sustainable Schools policy and the area-based approach to future planning. This is, I believe, the responsible, forward looking approach which the Trustees have been taking.

I thank you again for your kind invitation to be here. I wish you well for your time together and I hope we will all continue to be renewed in our commitment to Catholic education and the good news of Jesus Christ on which is it based. Thank you.

The Gospel reveals Jesus as the ONE consecrated by the Father who came into this world to carry out His will faithfully.  Simeon points to Jesus as a light for revelation to the Gentiles and in this way, foretells his supreme offering of Jesus to the Father and his final victory. In this way the presentation of Jesus is an eloquent icon, of the total offering of one’s life for all those who are called to show forth in the Church and in the world the features of Jesus – chaste, poor and obedient. 

History tells us that from the very first days of the Church there were many women of great faith who aimed to follow Christ with greater freedom.  They were determined to imitate him more closely by the practice of poverty, obedience, and chastity.  They dedicated their lives to God in various ways.  Many of them, inspired by the Holy Spirit, led the life of hermits.  Others raised up religious families to which the Church readily gave her approval.  As a result, a wonderful variety of communities has grown up and these have enabled the Church not only to be ready to do every kind of good work, but to be prepared for the work of building up the Body of Christ. They dedicated themselves to the Lord in a special way by following Christ, the example of all consecrated  chastity and poverty.  By his obedience, even to death on the cross, he redeemed and sanctified the world.  Fired by the love which the Holy Spirit poured out in their hearts, Religious in every age lived their lives ever increasingly for Christ and for His body which is the Church.  Consequently, the more fervent their union with Christ, through the giving of themselves, which includes the whole of their lives, the richer the life of the Church becomes and the more fruitful her apostolate.  And so I suppose, the challenge for all is to grow more fervent in our union with Christ.

You are the modern day successors of all of those.  Your profession, your religious profession, the day of your profession, was your response to God’s call.  You not only wanted to be pledged to him but also announce it to the world and live for God alone.  You have handed over the whole of your lives to His service and this is a special type of consecration.  It is, of course, deeply rooted in the consecration of Baptism and it expresses that consecration more fully.  Today, we rejoice with you at the fact that you have been chosen and called and that you have answered that call down through the years.

Jesus Christ was consecrated by the Father.  Jesus is totally dedicated to His Father.  At the age of twelve (12) – when he stayed behind and was lost for three days and was eventually found in that same temple and His mother was upset, he said:  “Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business”. 

‘Consecrated’, means the total dedication of a person or a thing to God.  It is most commonly applied to the bread and wine that is transformed into the Body and Blood of Jesus in the Eucharist. 

Baptism is the fundamental sacrament of personal consecration.  The vow which you took on the day of your profession, dedicated you to the service of God’s people in a particular congregation which has been ratified by the authority of the Church. 

Every consecration is intended to draw you into a deeper relationship with the Lord Jesus.  Jesus Christ was consecrated by the Father.  Jesus came into the world to do the will of the Father faithfully.  At the Last Supper, he prayed to the Father for his disciples – ‘Consecrate them in the truth”.

All of us were personally consecrated on the day of our Baptism.  In other words, we were anointed with oil and washed with water to show that we belonged, no longer to ourselves but, to God – that is the fundamental secret.

When you took your vows on the day of your profession in a particular religious community, something else happened.  From that day forward you were further dedicated to serve God’s people in a particular religious congregation – a congregation that was founded by your Founder or Foundress and approved by the appropriate authority of the Church. 

In the same way, I was anointed with oil on the day of my ordination as a priest and as a bishop – to show that I was thereby being dedicated and consecrated to serve the people of God as a diocesan bishop.  Then there are those others, chosen men, who were dedicated on the day of their religious profession and set apart on the day of their priestly ordination.

All of you who are called by God to religious life have dedicated yourselves to the Lord in a special way by following Christ.  He is the supreme example of chastity and poverty.  He said he did not even own the wherewith to lay down his head to rest.  He became totally obedient to the Father, obedient unto death, even death on the cross – to save all of us and set us free. 

Those who follow Christ as you do have been inspired by the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit – the Spirit of Love- pours that love of God into your hearts.  That love inspires you to live your life increasingly for Christ and for his body, the Church.

The result is that the more fervently you unite yourselves with Christ, the richer and more gracefilled the life of the Church becomes.  The more fruitful the apostolate of the Church- the more you unite yourselves to Christ.  You give the whole of your lives to Christ. 

Why a World Day for Consecrated Life?

To help us all appreciate better the gift which all consecrated persons are in the Church and for the Church.  Yes – for forty years the Second Vatican Council issued its Decree on the appropriate renewal of Religious Life, but the body of that Decree needs to be studied and understood and made known, so that everybody understands who you are and what you are about and the treasure which you are in the Church today.

I am very pleased to formally launch Catholic Schools Week and to inaugurate the Catholic Schools Partnership. The Partnership represents a timely and forward-looking initiative between the Conference of Religious of Ireland and the Irish Bishops’ Conference in their mutual service of Catholic Education.  It is a logical next step towards the unified voice and vision for Catholic Education set out in the Irish Bishops’ Pastoral Letter Vision 08: A Vision for Catholic Education in Ireland.

I am reminded of that ‘vision’ when I recall how Archbishop Crolly came to live in Armagh in 1840.  The first thing he built was a school, and only after that a cathedral and finally a residence.  I think he had his priorities right. He was living that ‘Vision’ of the Catholic School which we acknowledge and celebrate today. I believe that Catholic schools provide the fullest and best opportunity for all of us – and especially Catholic parents, to realize the four fold purpose of Christian formation, namely, to provide an atmosphere in which the Gospel Message is proclaimed, a community in which Christ is experienced, where service to our sisters and brothers is the norm, and where thanksgiving and worship of God is cultivated.

I have to say that I have a particular concern that this last aspect of Catholic education can all too easily be set aside in favour of other priorities in the school. Yet it is in the experience of thanksgiving and worship of God that we learn most about ourselves, about God and about the meaning and purpose of our life. For it is here we meet Christ – the light of the world to all generations. It is here that we celebrate who we are in Christ and through him, become what we are – Christ’s Body, a living and lively community working together in service of the Gospel.

I would appeal to all those involved in promoting Catholic education to encourage and support Catholic schools in making the participation of Catholic children in thanksgiving and the worship of God a key priority. My hope is that the same attention will always be given to excellence in worship as is given to excellence in academic or sporting performances.  There are wonderful and very laudable efforts made indeed to teach music, elocution and drama and I wish that pupils would be encouraged to place their musical talents and their speaking talents and their acting talents at the service of their local community and in their parishes at weekly worship.

The Catholic school prides itself on its links with the family and with the local community. This link was a key theme when Catholic Schools Week was founded in Northern Ireland many years ago. It was a Parish led celebration in collaboration with local Catholic Schools. The link between Catholic Schools Week and the Parish Sunday liturgy remains a vital part of the Catholic Schools Week initiative. I congratulate those who were involved in preparing the materials which support this link with the Sunday liturgy in this year’s resource book for schools. This link ensures that Catholic schools remain close to the source of their life and mission in Christ himself and in the wider Christian community.  We must work to strengthen and enhance these links at every possible opportunity.  It is vital that our schools also forge links with local organisations which are in the business of helping the less well off, the stranger and the needy.

Former US Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings, once described Catholic schools, ‘as national treasures that must be preserved’. Solidarity with the poor always appeals to young Irish people.  I have visited many schools where there are magnificent initiatives towards Africa and Eastern Europe.  I know that many teachers and pupils have gone there.  People have fasted and again this is something that is very attractive and very praiseworthy.  The John Paul II Awards system, which was introduced in the diocese of Derry, and is now in the diocese of Dromore and Armagh, rewards young people who carry out, into their parishes and local communities, the practice of what they learn from the Catholic ethos of their school.  This programme has caught the imagination of hundreds of pupils in these schools and in these dioceses.  I think it is a very imaginative and praiseworthy way of involving people, bridging school and parish, to the mutual advantage of both.  The Catholic school prides itself on its links with the family and with the local community. 

The vitality of the Church is closely linked to the health of its Catholic schools.  Those schools provide a most effective way to evangelise and form holy and wholesome men and women who make God known, loved and served.  Catholic schools will continue to play a vital role in civic life if they continue to exemplify, in an outstanding way, how to be better citizens. Citizens, who are prepared to engage fully in the democratic process and willing to commit themselves to work for the common good. 

The values of a particular system of education are fundamental to it and to its effectiveness. Time and time again research confirms that ‘Ethos adds value’ to a school. Catholic ethos adds value to the educational experience of a child, not just in terms of academic performance but in terms of the complete development of the person.

In Vision 08: A Vision for Catholic Education in Ireland, the Bishops acknowledge that – ‘Education and, in particular, the role of the Catholic Church in education at all levels, has recently become a topic of intense discussion and debate in our country.’ One only has to read the newspapers of recent days to realise just how true this is.

Catholic Schools Week coincides this year with a very public escalation in the debate about the future of the Catholic Church in the provision and management of education in this country. What has been notable is the constructive and respectful atmosphere within which the debate has been framed. A new maturity has entered the debate. In all but a few instances, the easy caricatures of the past have faded. The presumption that the Catholic Church wants to control as many schools as it can, irrespective of parental demands, is increasingly seen to be unfounded.

Equally, the idea that the only way to accommodate religious and cultural diversity in society is to remove the Church completely from state funded schools, is increasingly seen as unjust, unhelpful and contrary to the principle of pluralism. This proposition ignores the rights of parents and children to a faith based education, a right acknowledged in international instruments of human rights.

This more realistic and respectful atmosphere clears the ground for what could be the most creative and constructive dialogue about the future of education in this country since partition. It is a dialogue in which the Catholic Church is willing to be an enthusiastic and constructive partner.  If it is a dialogue based on mutual respect and a genuine concern for the rights of parents and children, then there is scope for a wide range of creative and exciting possibilities. If, on the other hand, the dialogue is simply a Trojan horse for removing faith from schools – whether Catholic, Protestant, Jewish or Muslim– then we are destined to remain locked in unnecessary tensions about the future of education, to the detriment of children and society.
In my opinion the possibilities for agreement about future models of provision and management would be greatly enhanced if such dialogue was framed around a number of guiding principles.

Some of these principles would include:

1.    Acceptance that all those engaged in education provision – that is parents, teachers, Church, State and all the sectors – at the moment have a shared commitment to the well-being and complete development of every child in their care, irrespective of their religious, ethnic or cultural background. This commitment is fully respected within existing Catholic School provision. To suggest or imply that Catholic schools are unable to be overtly Catholic and at the same time accommodate a degree of religious, cultural or ethnic diversity is unfair and not borne out by experience. Similarly, as a faith community we have to accept that there may be circumstances whereby the formation of children in the Catholic faith may have to be accommodated other than in a Catholic school. More recent Catholic Social doctrine speaks of the importance of a shared humanism as the basis for authentic human progress towards a more united and peaceful society. While promoting and defending the rights of faith based education, we, as a Church, should not create the impression that no room exists for mutual collaboration and sharing with other religious and secular approaches to education on the basis of our shared humanism. Recognition of our shared interest in the dignity and development of every person itself opens up new vistas of imagination and possibility, if there is sufficient trust and mutual respect in the dialogue. As Catholics we believe that humanism is completed and perfected in Jesus Christ. It is he who shows us how to be perfectly human. It is he who lights our way to a better world and our eternal future. It will be in our fidelity to this belief that others will rediscover the freshness of Christian life and the true spirit of a Catholic vision of education.

2.    Critical to this dialogue is the clear recognition that parents have a right to have their children educated in accordance with their philosophical and religious convictions. Consequently the State has a duty to support this right with public funds. It is important to point out that Catholic parents are tax payers. It would be helpful if the idea that the Church has no right to be involved in schools which are paid for out of public funds was acknowledged as a complete red-herring and blatantly unjust! Those parents who choose and value the Catholic education provided for their children are tax-payers in exactly the same way as parents who send their children to other types of schools. To disadvantage any group of parents because of their faith is completely contrary to the principle of equality and pluralism. There is no such thing as a value-free school. If parents want the Government of the day to define and manage the ethos of their schools it is important to ask what philosophy of life, of the human person, of the child would the Government of the day promote? What system of values would it seek to promote? That of the particular party in power? Would it change from Government to Government? History shows that Churches and other organisations have proven themselves able to work effectively with the State in the provision of a wide range of services to society. Catholic schools are uniquely placed to draw on the expertise, experience and voluntary involvement of  thousands of lay faithful in support of their schools and their effective management. They are able to draw from and contribute to the local Parish in building up a sense of community belonging and engagement in a way which no Government agency could provide. These are real benefits which Catholic schools bring to the education and formation of their pupils.

3.    In the provision of new schools fair criteria should be employed. Just as it is right to question the over-provision of Catholic schools relative to perceived demand, it is also right to ask why of all the newly built schools in areas of population growth in Ireland in recent years, very few are Catholic? Is it true that in every one of these cases only a minority of the population was Catholic or wanted a Catholic school? There is no substitute for parental choice. There has to be an effective way of establishing parental choice when a new school is being built as a result of population growth. Is it possible to create a more transparent, creative and flexible system which is more sensitive to parental choice and more able to verify it than that which is being used at the moment? The Catholic Church is open to diversity of provision but parents who want Catholic schools have to be treated as fairly and on the same basis as others. They cannot be automatically excluded from consideration when a new school is being built.

One of the curious things about the recent Ipsos/MRBI poll in the Irish Times was that in suggesting that a majority of the public wants the Catholic Church to give up its role in the management of primary schools there was no clear indication as to their preferred alternative. If the editorial comment on the poll is right then a key factor in the result was the completely justified anger with Bishops and Religious Orders over the findings of the Ryan and Murphy reports. But what then of the implications of the less publicised but very significant criticisms of state-run organisations in the same reports?

There is a real challenge here for the new Catholic Schools Partnership. It is possible than many people are assessing their support for Catholic Church involvement in education, not on the basis of their own commitment to Catholic faith, but out of an outdated and stereotypical view of a Catholic school. It was interesting that in the Ipsos/MRBI poll, younger people tended to have a more positive attitude to the involvement of Church than those in middle-age.
One possible reason for this may be that most young people attending Catholic schools today have a very positive experience of the Catholic ethos and atmosphere of their school. The emphasis on the love of God for every person, the importance of concern and respect for others, the experience of reflective prayer and participation in the liturgy mean the atmosphere of Catholic schools are a far cry from what they were even twenty or thirty years ago. The cold and disturbing images of Catholic education evoked by the Ryan Report could not be in more stark contrast to the supportive and positive atmosphere of Catholic schools today.

The Catholic Schools Partnership is also uniquely well placed to address another dimension of the current debate. It arises from its stated objective of ‘fostering a deeper awareness that Catholic education is an integral part of the mission of the Church’. When people, including a lot of people who are clearly practising Catholics, speak of wanting the Church out of primary schools or education generally, what perception of Church involvement in schools do they have? Catholic schools are the supreme example of lay leadership in the Church. It would be unjust to dismiss the superb work of so many catholic teachers, principals, volunteers and Boards of Management of Catholic schools because of the terrible failings of some priests, religious and bishops.

A more detailed and scientific analysis of exactly what is being said here would be helpful. There is value in the findings of recent reports. They are a stark reminder to Bishops and Congregational leaders of the depth of anger and disillusionment caused by the mismanagement of some Church leaders, in addition to the profound impact on those abused. Stronger systems of inspection and accountability by the State for Patrons, Boards of Management and Principals in the application of best practice in safeguarding children would be welcome. It would be a more just and appropriate response to the lack of confidence in Patrons than dismissing the rights of parents to a faith based education and impugning the superb work of whole school communities. 
We are confident that the Catholic Schools Partnership and the Trustee Support Service in the North, by becoming themselves, examples par excellence of lay leadership in the Church, will play a key role in restoring the confidence of parents and wider society in the commitment of Catholic schools to the highest standards of safeguarding and welfare for every child in their care.

If parental choice is to be the key factor determining demand and provision of education, then Catholic schools today are well placed to win the support and confidence of parents who want a values-based education for their children. This will be one in which academic excellence is wedded to worship of God, respect for others, service of the needy, building community and the pursuit of a more just, united and responsible world. The effort of teachers, principals, boards of management, priests and religious in recent years to ensure that Catholic schools are open, happy, stimulating, and mutually respectful community environments means we have nothing to fear from a future based on verifiable parental choice.

This is what makes the creation of the Catholic Schools Partnership, the Trustee Support Service in the North and the all-island Catholic Education Service such a timely, providential and Spirit-led development. I want to take this opportunity to commend all those who worked so hard to bring these new relationships.

The selfless and far seeing Irish men and women who founded the Irish teaching orders, like their European counterparts, were people with the eyes of faith. Illuminated and energised by the light of Christ, they could see possibilities that others had not even dared to imagine. They were fearless and confident in their ability to engage with the circumstances and culture of their time. 

The Spirit of the Risen Christ continues to empower God’s people today with the same charisms and dynamism that helped the generations before us respond to the needs of their time. That is why the theme for this year’s Catholic schools week is so appropriate. In establishing the Catholic Schools Partnership we are honouring those who gave their lives, energy and financial resources to Catholic Education in the past. We stand on their shoulders as we now look to future generations. We have received from them the light of Christ. We have received the life and the hope which that light brings and we want to pass that light to generations to come.

For our own part as parents, teachers, managers and trustees we must constantly ensure that we too are led by the light of Jesus Christ and the wonderful news of his Gospel.

We can take encouragement from the fact that repeated international surveys confirm the positive impact of the ethos of a Catholic school on the social concern and tolerance of diversity of pupils who attend them. We must also acknowledge with humility any gap between our ideals and our practice and seek to address those gaps in a supportive and positive way.

We should also remember that the Lord can do much more than we could ever ask for or imagine. He is our first teacher. People called him ‘Rabbi’. They were inspired by his teaching because he taught with authority. Not the authority of fear or superiority, but of integrity.  He witnessed to the truth of what he taught. He was educated in the home. As a young boy he engaged in dialogue with the teachers of the Temple – impressing them with his knowledge and his search for meaning.

Today is the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas. St. Thomas believed we should help children to learn by accompanying them on their search for meaning.  The challenge for the teacher is to be light which guides others to the source of all meaning – Jesus Christ.  He engaged them in respectful dialogue. He opened the Scripture for them.  People’s hearts ‘burned within them’ when they understood the meaning of his wonderful message – a message of good news.

Catholic education – in the home, the school, the parish – seeks to continue this mission of Jesus of bringing light and life to the world. In each generation, we as his followers, seek to fulfil his mandate to go out and teach all nations.

We should not apologise for who we are. In an increasingly diverse culture the future lies in ensuring that our schools become more authentically Catholic, both in terms of the authentic Catholic doctrine they teach and the Christian environment which they create. St. Augustine once said, Christian – “Behold what you are. Become what you see. The Body of Christ. Beloved of God.” (Augustine, Homily 57, On the Holy Eucharist)

Today we ask God to bless all those who will work to implement the Partnership’s Strategic Plan over the next four years.   We pray that in your work you will help schools to ‘Behold what they are and become what they see’ – the light of Christ leading and guiding a new generation to life, peace and healing for a broken world.

Thank you.