Religious education plans ‘could dilute Catholic ethos’

A theologian has claimed planned changes to the treatment of religious education in schools could dilute the core ethos of Catholic schools.

Eamonn Conway, head of theology and religious studies at Mary Immaculate College Limerick, was heavily critical of last year’s report of the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector, when he addressed an Iona Institute event to coincide with the launch of Catholic Schools Week.

The report was written by the forum’s advisory group, chaired by John Coolahan, retired professor of education at NUI Maynooth. As well as recommending that Catholic schools be transferred to other patrons in areas where there is demand for wider choice of schools, it made suggestions on how Catholic schools could better cater for children of other faiths and of no faith.