Catholic schools must be ‘places of conviction’

Former Vatican ambassador calls on Catholics to be confident in their faith

Catholic schools must be confident in their identity if they are to enrich the wider society, a Belfast conference has been told.

Francis Campbell, former British Ambassador to the Vatican, also warned that Catholic schools and institutions are in danger of losing their distinct identity unless they put more focus on their unique ethos.

In an address staunchly defending the values of Catholic education at St Mary’s University College in Belfast, Mr Campbell insisted that a Catholic education “is not simply about numbers or the orthodoxy of course content, but about conviction.

“The constant integration of the ethos with the educational philosophy reminds all concerned of the broader goals of Catholic education. Retaining that integration requires constant attention,” Mr Campbell said.

The Co. Down native and newly appointed head of St Mary’s University College, Twickenham said achieving a balance between ethos and academics at all times is difficult, “especially with pressures from within a professional educational culture that rightly demands ever more inputs and data to be able to measure impact and value for money”. 

However, he insisted that a Catholic school or university “needs to be as attentive to its ethos and identity as it is to the essential professional metrics”.

Otherwise, “it runs the risk of cutting itself off from its roots and hence its distinctive offer,” he claimed.  

Faith-based educational institutions, Mr Campbell argued, “enrich societies through offering a distinctive approach which complements other providers in the education space”.

“But that distinctiveness needs those institutions to be confident about their identity otherwise they erode their uniqueness and diminish their patrimony,” he said.

Mr Campbell’s comments came after the principal of St Mary’s, Belfast, expressed concern to The Irish Catholic that an education review by the North’s Higher Education Minister Stephen Farry could pose a threat to the future of his college.

Prof. Peter Finn, also accused Minister Farry of being “on a mission” to shut the teacher training facility, which is the North’s only Catholic higher education institution.