With the release of the comprehensive GRACE report (Global Researchers Advancing Catholic Education) assessing the realities facing Catholic education in Ireland just a week after the Teacher’s Union (INTO) called for the removal of the religious education qualification to teach in Catholic schools, it almost feels that when it comes to education in this country…
Dr Amalee Meehan Religious Education (RE) internationally and in this country, is considered a key expression of Catholic school ethos and identity. In Ireland, as enshrined in the Education Act of 1988, it is the responsibility of the school patron. A new in-depth study uncovers a mixed bag of results about the reality of RE…
Dr Catherine McCormack My first observation on the GRACE project’s reports is the worrying number of stakeholders who report that they received no training for their roles in Catholic schools; and of those who received training, generally it was once-off or less often than yearly. Also concerning is the fact that of those who received…
Last October the South East Technological University (SETU) launched their ‘Gender Identity and Expression Policy’. But lecturer Colette Colfer, a lecturer in world religions questioned the document’s impacts on compelling speech and policing language. One of her concerns was that the policy maintained that a refusal to use preferred pronouns was an example of “unlawful…
The pro-Palestinian disturbances on American – and other campuses – have been widely compared to the youthful demonstrations which helped to bring an end to the Vietnam war in the 1960s. Certainly, the protests against the American involvement in the Vietnam war were momentous (Australia and other allies also took part). Two Irish-American Catholic priests,…
As Ireland becomes increasing multireligious and multicultural, empathy to other faiths especially Islam is of great service to the common good writes Dr Niall Coll, Bishop of Ossory. Let me say how incredibly helpful it is to have such an excellent quantitative and qualitative study of important aspects of the shape of Catholic education in…
To divest or not to divest – we need a detailed examination of how schools can be Catholic in a challenging secular culture writes Dr Brendán Ó Caoimh The GRACE Report presents a profile of the people who lead, manage and teach in Catholic schools, at both primary and secondary level. Therefore, it serves as…
Europe’s bishops have voiced support for the European Union’s future enlargement plans, saying it provides a unique opportunity to showcase the value of fraternity, but they also cautioned against the imposition of ideology and the pursuit of particular interests. In a statement issued during their April 17-19 spring plenary assembly in Łomza, Poland, the Commission…
The latest round of Irish diocesan submissions to the global Synodal Pathway renewed an urgent call for formation – adult formation, youth formation, seminary formation, formation across the board! Without formation it will be practically impossible to embed synodality or co-responsibility in the Church in Ireland, because nobody knows what exactly they mean, dioceses told…
Dear Editor, I am writing to commend the courageous work of priests like Fr Ademir Marques OFM Cap., who selflessly minister to individuals experiencing homelessness and poverty, often facing dangerous situations in the process. The recent incident at the Capuchin Day Centre in Dublin, where Fr Marques was attacked – thankfully not badly injured –…
Wendy Grace
Mary Kenny