The support of Catholic bishops for Catholic schools was strongly reaffirmed during the meeting of the Scottish Bishops’ Conference which ended in Glasgow on 11 December. The bishops repudiated recent criticisms voiced in the media about confessional education. “We are astonished and dismayed”, say the bishops in a communiqué, by those who seek to find a link between the “existence of Catholic schools and sectarianism in society”. “As a Church declare the Scottish bishops we abhor bigotry and sectarianism wherever they are found” and, they add, “we continue to work tirelessly with people of all faiths to promote dialogue and toleration”. “Catholic parents have the right for their children to be educated according to their principles. These same parents, by the tax they pay to the state, have paid their contribution to society and now ask for an educational service in line with their religious convictions. To deny this would mean attacking their fundamental human rights”. At the present time some 90% of Catholic parents in Scotland use Catholic schools and the majority of Scots consider that it is important that such schools be available for those who wish their children to attend them”.
