Give school chaplains a fair deal
Few, if any, will deny the urgency and importance of this service.
The widespread recognition of the vital contribution that chaplains make in second-level schools is firmly supported by law.
The 1998 Education Act obliges every school in the State to "promote the moral, social, spiritual and personal development of students." The proper implementation of this stipulation necessarily implies the provision of funding for suitably qualified full-time chaplains in every second-level school.
All who value the holistic development of students must rejoice in this acknowledgement.
While some deficiencies still exist there is, I believe, good reason to hope that full-time chaplains will be the norm in all schools sooner rather than later.
The Department of Education remunerates chaplains in community schools/colleges and in comprehensive schools. However, voluntary schools employing full-time chaplains remunerate them from their own resources.
The bishops and the Government correctly state that the youth are the future of both our Church and country. Why, then, are voluntary schools so blatantly discriminated against in this most influential area of school life? There can be no doubting the necessity for school chaplains. Their role and contribution are of such long term value that the Department of Education should assume full responsibility for the remuneration of chaplains in all post-primary schools. Church and State would be well advised and, I believe, well rewarded to ensure that this need is promptly and adequately met.
The dividend to be expected from providing this valuable service is almost incalculable in terms of students, schools and families and its concomitant effect on society at large.
Despite all the efforts of parents, teachers and chaplains it is evident that not all our young people will choose to remain active members of the Church.
Nonetheless, those of us who have responsibility in this regard should help them find true meaning in their lives. The present cultural and moral environment is not just a challenge, but rather an occasion to reawaken the deeper things of the spirit in young people. This is a challenge and an opportunity that should be eagerly grasped.
Eddie O'Carroll
Chaplain
Cistercian College
Roscrea
Co Tipperary
