THE REMOVAL of religion teaching from primary schools would be "totally at variance with a Catholic philosophy of education", Bishop Leo O'Reilly, chairman of the Education Commission of the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference, has said.
Such a proposal was "the logical consequence of a secular world view which would deny the claims of religion to objective truth. Hence it would reduce religion to a purely private pursuit and banish any expression of it from the public sphere," he said.
He also announced an all-Ireland initiative involving an annual "Catholic Schools Week". The first such week will be held beginning January 26th next and there will be seminars on Catholic education in Dublin and Belfast.
Dr O'Reilly was speaking at the University Church on Dublin's Stephen's Green last night during a Mass which marked the 150th anniversary of the completion of cardinal John Henry Newman's seven-year service to Irish university education.
The cardinal was rector of the Catholic University of Ireland, which evolved into University College Dublin, from November 1851 until November 1858.
Dr O'Reilly also said last night that "religious instruction is an integral part of the curriculum of the Catholic school and permeates the whole life of the school.
"The pupil is the same person, whether in the classroom or in the church. As Catholics, we are believers when we study. We are rational when we pray."
