Bishop’s warning on secularising schools

A Catholic bishop has warned Education Minister Ruairi Quinn not to rush ahead with plans to put primary schools currently managed by the Church under secular control.

Bishop Leo O’Reilly of Kilmore, a diocese which straddles the border with Northern Ireland, said it would be “extremely unwise” for Mr Quinn to try and bulldoze the changeover, or ram it through quickly.

Bishop O’Reilly, a former chairman of the Bishops’ Council on educational matters, said in a weekend interview that the plan to hand over 50 primary schools posed the question whether diversity and choice was being offered for all, except those practising as Catholics.