Cathal BarryThe principal of one of Ireland’s largest Catholic post-primary schools has offered the use of his schools’ facilities to Orangemen marching in this year’s Twelfth of July parade.
Jarlath Burns, principal of St Paul’s High School, Bessbrook, Co. Armagh, said the move was about “reaching out” in an attempt to “create a new understanding” between nationalist and unionist communities in the North.
“I think that if Catholic schools are to be transformational, which is what we want education for children to be, we must show the next generation coming through that these people are not bogeymen but they are our neighbours and our fellow countrymen,” Mr Burns told The Irish Catholic.
“This is not a crusade or anything. Catholic education is about understanding diversity, respecting people, giving people dignity.
“It’s all about inclusivity. These are our values and they are all tied together by the love we have for our fellow man,” he said.
Noting that such values were among the “most basic tenets” of Catholic education, Mr Burns said “it shouldn’t be shock therapy to anybody” that his schools “wants to reach out”. “That should be the most natural thing in the world for a Catholic school to do,” he said, adding that there was a need for civic and education leaders to “step forward and do their bit”.
Mr Burns, a former Armagh GAA star, was among those attending a new multi-million pound museum this week opened in Co. Armagh at the birthplace of the Orange Order.