Scottish Catholic Observer

Cardinal Keith O’Brien has told Catholic parents in Scotland that they must take a greater role in their children’s education if they want ‘our schools to be Catholic schools in the years ahead’ and the Catholic Faith to be protected from marginalisation.

Cardinal O’Brien, president of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, was speaking at the First Catholic Assembly of Parent Councils, held at Carfin last Saturday, where he and Bishop Joseph Devine of Motherwell—head of the Catholic Education Commission—met with parents from Catholic parents’ associations from around Scotland before Bishop Devine celebrated Mass.

“You and other parents need to be prepared to enter more fully into the life of your parish and of your school,” the cardinal told the Catholic parents gathered at Carfin’s Xavier Centre. “That is demanding. The busy-ness of life today, the pace at which we all live, means that it is difficult to think about being ‘more involved.’  But I do not think that we—you—will have any choice in the matter.”

Marginalisation of Faith

The cardinal added that parental input was required because Catholic parents, as the first educators of their children, had to help ‘ensure that the voice born of Faith is not marginalised in our society today.’

“We need to affirm the right of the Faithful—those who believe in God—to have a voice in the public discourse,” he said. “We need to ensure that your right to have your children educated as you wish is realised in the fullest way possible. The Church needs you to do this within your local communities so that belief is not pushed into a purely private sphere.”

The cardinal said that while there was no immediate threat to Catholic schools, ‘education is subject to views that would seek to minimise the impact of faith in schools, in the name of social cohesion, and to insist on all things being the same for everyone, in the name of a misguided approach to equalities legislation.’

In response, he said Catholic parents had to have the confidence to express the Church’s teachings and to not accept ‘views that would seek to dilute what we provide to young people.’

Church efforts

Cardinal O’Brien did stress he understood that ‘being a parent is not easy’ which was partly why he and his fellow bishops ‘take seriously the need to support Catholic education.’

“We do that as a service to the Church and as a service to you,” he said. “In supporting Catholic schools we take seriously our role to ensure that there is a public environment to support young people in knowing and loving Jesus who is our Saviour. In supporting Catholic schools we take seriously our role to help you to be good parents, helping your children to grow up well and handing on to them your Faith. You parents are the foundation for any educational activity, and educational activity has to be a continuation of the love that you share, the love that gives birth to your children.”

Support

Bishop Devine backed the cardinal’s stance during his homily, telling parents they had to ask if they were committed to Catholic education and if so, what they were willing to do to support it.

Michael McGrath, director of the Scottish Catholic Education Service, said it had been a ‘very positive’ event, very much focused on how to engage Catholic parents so they could help ‘shape the direction of Catholic education.’

“That is now a key focus of the Catholic Education Commission,” he said. “Trying to encourage parent involvement, so they appreciate the value of Catholic education and promote a partnership between parents and teachers, between the school and the home.”

Mr McGrath went on to say that the parents present had been ‘anxious’ to take this opportunity and build on it.

Tony Coultas, chairman of St Peter the Apostle High School, Clydebank’s parents’ group, was a key figure in setting up Saturday’s meeting after being approached to set up a working group within the Catholic Education Commission.

“It was a very positive event, but it should be seen as a beginning, rather than the end of something,” he said. “We want to attract parents from every diocese in Scotland and engage them so that their voices can be heard.”

Mr Coultas also said that ‘every parent’ on a parents’ council is aware of the ‘difficulties in trying to engage parents.’

“People are very busy, and there is often this litany of negative things, but lots of parents are very committed to Catholic education, just in a quiet way,” he said. “So a lot of this is about helping people to come together and support each other so they are more visible.”

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Pic: Paul McSherry