The most notable event in Catholic education in Ireland so far has to be the official launch of Catholic Schools Partnership,

combined with the inauguration of the Catholic Schools Week 2010, on the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, 28 January, 2010, at the Emmaus Centre, Swords, Co. Dublin.

To mark and honour that dual event, this article is devoted to a summary of some important snippets from key speakers on the day.

In his address, Cardinal Seán Brady set out possible guiding principles about future models of provision and management in Catholic education and emphasised that:

• Room exists for mutual collaboration and sharing with other religious and secular approaches to education on the basis of our shared humanity

• Parents have a right to have their children educated in accordance with their philosophical and religious convictions

• 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.

The Cardinal also stressed the importance of the Catholic school as providing the fullest opportunity for realising the fourfold purpose of Christian formation: an atmosphere in which the Gospel message is proclaimed, a community in which Christ is experienced, where service to others is the norm and where thanksgiving and worship of God are cultivated.  He said research confirms that “Ethos adds value” to a school – to the educational experience of students in academic performance as well as in personal development.

In inaugurating the CSP the Cardinal commended those who worked so hard to bring it to fruition, calling it a “timely, spirit-led development”.  He also praised the “selfless and far-seeing Irish men and women who founded the Irish teaching orders;  like their European counterparts, they were people with 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.”  He proclaimed that the Risen Lord “continues to empower God’s people to-day with the same charisms and dynamism that helped generations before respond to the needs of their time”.  His theme tied in with that of this year’s Catholic School Week, also launched on  January 28: ‘Catholic Schools – A Light for every Generation’

The Catholic Schools Partnership in Action
In his address, Fr. Michael Drumm, Executive Chairperson of CSP, explained that, as a new body it aims to ‘…foster a deeper sense of partnership and shared purpose’ amongst existing trustee, patron and management organisations. One of the main aims is to provide a unified voice for Catholic education in the public forum and with educational bodies and the government.
He described the schools as “caring and inclusive communities [which have] adapted to demographic change with significant net migration into Ireland and have led the way in integrating the ‘new Irish’ into local communities”.  He also praised the voluntary efforts of parents and teachers and the 20,000 volunteer members of boards of  management throughout the country. He said our education system “has facilitated a structure of participatory democracy unheard of in most areas of Irish life” – matched only by the GAA, which is also parish based!
The membership of the Council of CSP includes three bishops, seven lay women, eight lay men, six religious sisters, two religious brothers and seven priests.

The Council has begun its work and has prioritised five areas needing attention:

• Planning for a broader range of provision at primary level based on the principle of parental choice.

• Support for new voluntary secondary schools based on the principle of parental choice.  Also at second level there is need to address the unequal financing of Catholic voluntary second-level schools vis-à-vis other schools.

• The unsustainable status of some small schools.

• Identifying a key range of supports for those involved in Catholic schools. Time and attention need to be devoted to the development of the spirituality of lay teachers in Catholic schools.

• The need for an internal dialogue within the church on the role of schools in the mission and life of the Christian school.

Both Cardinal Brady and Fr. Drumm emphasised the importance of parental choice. That sent me back to the Declaration on Christian Education (1965) from Vatican 11 which makes even more interesting reading now than it did almost fifty years ago – we’re beginning to act on it!  For an interesting view on the role of parents and the Churches in Irish education from a legal perspective, Dr. Dympna Glendenning’s ‘Opinion’ piece in the Irish Times of Thursday 11th February 2010 was concise and worthwhile.