“Religion is more than a matter for study. It’s a lifestyle and a faith that must be handed down”. In this perspective “Catholic schools contribute to the enrichment of Irish society”, declared the Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of all Ireland, Seán Brady, intervening in recent days at the opening ceremony of the celebrations marking the centenary of the College of St. Muredach, at Ballina. “Parents, before anyone else – said the primate – have responsibility for the upbringing, growth and education of their children, and it is the task of the State to help them to fulfil this vital task”. “By virtue of their primary and irreplaceable role – he continued – parents have the right to choose the type of education they prefer for their children and the school that best corresponds to their convictions; this is a right that the authorities must guarantee”. Talking about the state of Irish society, the primate underlined its recent changes: “Many forms of progress – he conceded – have influenced our society for the good and improved the country’s quality of life”, but “there is also a negative aspect: the growth of a materialistic culture that tends to numb the human spirit”. And since it is in this culture that our young must live, “Catholic education must prepare them to embrace what there is in it that is positive, and “to be critical of the aspects that contradict the values of the faith”.
