MPs investigate Catholic influence on schools

[didymus]

tinyurl.com/2bt7qs

MPs investigate Catholic influence on schools

A Commons select committee is to investigate evidence that the Roman Catholic Church is pursuing a more fundamentalist approach towards religion in its schools.

  	 		 Members of the Children, Schools and Families Committee plan to call senior bishops to give evidence in an inquiry into the approach schools are adopting towards a range of issues – including abortion, sex education and PSHE (personal and social health education) classes.

The move comes after a 66-page circular from the Bishop of Lancaster, Patrick O’Donoghue, instructed Catholic schools in the North-west to stop “safe sex” education and place crucifixes!!] in every classroom.

Schools were also told not to support charities that promote or fund pro-choice policies, singling out Amnesty International – which is in favour of abortion for women who have been raped in war zones. Barry Sheerman, the Labour chairman of the committee, said there was evidence from other areas of the country of Catholic schools being told to adopt a more fundamentalist line.

I’m recalling all the “separation of church & state” arguments I’ve had where folks have brought up, “Well, the gov’t funds parochial schools in Canada, England, &c. and it works out fine.”
Well, once you take the King’s shilling . . .

 

[Titus]

Er the UK doesn’t have the separation of church and state. It has an established church (the CofE) whose leaders are members of our parliament.

The Catholic Church and other faith organisations can have schools that are almost entirely state-funded but have a religious ethos.

 

[didymus]

Er the UK doesn’t have the separation of church and state. It has an established church (the CofE) whose leaders are members of our parliament.

The Catholic Church and other faith organisations can have schools that are almost entirely state-funded but have a religious ethos.

I knw. I was making the point to argue against people who wanted tax dollars to support religious schools here in the US and pointed to your system of state support.

 

[Linda_Marie]

I suppose the question here is “Is this investigation going to result in Parliament making laws forcing Catholic schools to teach contraception, abortion, and sex education just as it is taught in public schools? Are they going to require Catholic schools to abandon Catholic ethics and morals?”

Why would they have an investigation in the first place if they hadn’t already decided that Catholic teachings are bad?

I don’t think this is a matter of being bound by taking the King’s shilling. It sounds to me like they are going to require these things to be taught regardless of where the money comes from.

Here in Australia it is recognised that every student in a private school supports public schools to a greater degree. It costs the government far less to educate children if parents opt out of the public school system even if tax money is used to subsidise private schools. They recognise that parents who privately school have already paid tax to support schooling. It is only equitable to use some of that school tax money to subsidise private schools. However, the amount per student doled out to private schools is considerably less than what public schools get.

Catholic adoption agencies have already closed in Britain because a new law required them to consider homosexual couples as suitable parents contrary to Catholic teaching. Now they are attacking Catholic schools. If Catholic schools close, all those students will descend upon an already overstretched public school system. This will have significantly more impact than Catholic adoption agencies closing considering that Catholics now make up about 1/4 of the population of Britain.