Well-schooled in church’s desire for power By Michael Clifford

STELLA Days is from another “world”. The movie, which is now in cinemas, is based in 1950s Ireland, a land that has long disappeared into the mists of history.

Its central character, played by Martin Sheen, is a priest who wants to build a cinema in a small town. His efforts are stymied by his bishop, who would prefer a church. The bishop lectures Sheen’s priest that the Catholic Church must win “the hearts and minds of the people”.

That was a time when the Church held sway over Ireland. It would be nice to believe that the institution’s influence was all about inculcating religion as a force for good in the populace. Subsequent events have shown that the driving force of the Church, at the time, was power, not spirituality.

Many, if not most, clerics were genuine in their calling, but the institution’s priorities lay in acquiring and retaining purchase on the hearts and minds of the people, in order that the Church’s interests be best served.

Those days are gone, so we are told. Yet, in some areas, old habits die hard. If you want to win hearts and minds, where better to start than with children.

Last Monday, Education Minister Ruairi Quinn, announced a €1.5bn plan to build 106 new primary schools and 43 secondary schools over five years.

The schools will go some way toward catering for an expected increase of 80,000 pupils. But what kind of education can these pupils of tomorrow expect? Will they have choice?

With the Church currently holding patronage of 92% of the primary-school sector, will the new schools’ ethos differ much from what was endured in the 1950s? Mr Quinn has initiated a process that should see the Church divest itself of a large number of the 3,000 or so schools it operates. The minister has said that half of those schools could switch patronage.

The chairman of the Catholic Schools Patronage, Fr Michael Drumm, says that maybe 10% would be a more appropriate figure. This infers that 90% of parents want a Catholic education for their children, which is twice the number of people who attend Mass regularly.

The question arises: What exactly constitutes a Catholic education these days?

Beyond the teaching of religion, there is little or no difference between a school under Church patronage and one under that of another faith or a multi-denominational patronage.

Surprisingly, the role of religion instruction in schools has not ostensibly moved on much since Stella Days.

On the Department of Education website, a document called The Rules for National Schools caters for religion under rule 68, which states: “Of all the parts of a school curriculum, religious instruction is by far the most important, and its subject matter, God’s honour and service, includes the proper use of all man’s faculties, and affords the most powerful inducements to their proper use. Religious instruction is, therefore, a fundamental part of the school course, and a religious spirit should inform and vivify the whole work of the school.”

The rules were written in 1965, but remain official policy. Clearly, the segment of the day given over to religion is supposed to be the most important.

However, with the Church controlling 92% of schools, who among the dwindling numbers of practicing Catholics is in a position to do that vital job?

Demographics would suggest that a large cohort of primary school teachers no longer attends mass. Many, possibly, no longer believe. This is not a criticism of teachers. Those who wish to work in 92% of the State’s schools are obliged to give the impression that they believe. The alternative is to look for a job elsewhere.

Teaching faith is not like teaching geography. In the Catholic faith, in particular, there is mystery, and a requirement to suspend critical faculties.

Look at transubstantiation, the changing of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. You need to be a believer to convince children that it actually happens.

Imparting this stuff is the job of teachers, many of whom, with the best will in the world, don’t buy into the stuff themselves.

Is it for this the Church is determinedly holding onto as many schools as possible?

It’s not just the schools it controls that interest the Church.

Following a pilot project a few years ago, the VEC has established five schools and has been awarded patronage for four new ones. These offer one of the few alternatives to a Catholic education.

However, after lobbying from the Church, and some parents, religious instruction, or faith formation as it is called, is taught in those schools. The children of different religious backgrounds are split up. Catholics form one group, Protestants their own, Muslims another, and a few of the more minor faiths are thrown together. The differences in the children’s backgrounds are accentuated.

This suits the Catholic Church perfectly. In a country where a la carte Catholicism has long been the majority religion, the hierarchy would be loath to leave the important business of inculcating religion to parents. After all, many parents don’t bother too much with it, but want the school to raise their kids as good Catholics.

Whatever about those in schools under Church patronage, teachers in the VEC schools are even less likely to be believers. They don’t even have to pretend. Once again, as far as the Church is concerned, it’s a case of feel the width, not the quality.

Ironically, it is arguable that a proper Catholic education is more likely to be found in schools under another patronage, one beyond the control of the Church.

Educate Together operates 60 schools nationally under a multi-denomination ethos. Earlier this month, the body was awarded patronage of another eight schools to open in the next two years.

Faith formation in ET schools is taught outside school hours. In many of its schools, there is a considerable take-up for Holy Communion and Confirmation. The system demands that parents have to make a serious effort.

It also implies that the person providing the instruction outside school hours is more likely to be a believer.

It resembles the approach of other Churches in raising children, emphasising the after-school and parental involvement as much as what happens in class. However, if a la carte religion is your thing, you’re better off looking to a Catholic school.

So it goes with the teaching of religion, which the Department of Education tells us is the most important aspect of a primary school education. What it demonstrates is that, as far as the hierarchy of the Catholic Church is concerned, the tenets of the religion, the spiritual aspects, the ethic which drives it, are secondary to retaining numbers. Power is what it’s all about.

It would be nice to think that Stella Days is far behind us.

But you’d want to suspend your critical faculties to believe that.