Debrief

I am a  Catholic teacher in an integrated primary school.  I find it depressing that there are implicit criticisms of me, and others like me, in the reports of Bishop McKeown’s  World Peace Day address. Many of us have worked hard to build up good relationships with local Priests; in some cases this work has been in the face of active lobbying against schools in their parishes. I want to be anonymous because I don’t want to threaten the links we have made after so much effort on all sides.  The position apparently held by Bishop McKeown undermines that effort and insults our commitment to the education of young people.

I can think of nowhere that a local priest will get a warmer welcome than an Integrated primary school because it is recognition of the work we Catholic teachers are doing. 

I view my position as one of great responsibility for the young Catholics in my care. Each day I work with them to enhance their lives in spiritual and emotional ways in an environment that both acknowledges their faith and the faiths of others within the class. By giving the children the opportunity to discuss their faiths and backgrounds, we are acknowledging that we all have a right to participate freely in society. Surely this is one of the most obvious ways of developing the ‘whole person’?

My experience has taught me that many of the Catholic teachers in Integrated schools who are preparing children for their Sacraments are having to work harder, longer and show more dedication than their colleagues in maintained schools because we feel we have to prove ourselves to the outside community. Without the support structures that every maintained school has, our children are always prepared exceptionally well for their Sacraments and their moral responsibility to the world.

I frequently encounter critics who assume that all Catholic children in the Integrated sector are the product of lapsed Catholic parents. In my time, I have come across as many devout parents in the Integrated sector as I have in the Maintained. Think, when Mass attendance is at an all time low – are all of these missing people the parents of children in Integrated schools? I doubt it!

On the other hand, there are cases where Catholic teachers in Integrated schools are doing the job that a priest should be doing. We are reaching out to those parents who have, for whatever reason, fallen out with the Church. We give the families continued access to their faith and offer them the chance at reconciliation.

In fact, what is particularly galling is seeing the provision made for children who attend controlled schools but only receive once-a-week tutorial lessons in preparation for the Sacraments. I wonder why these children receive ‘fluffy religion’ but are treated much better than those Catholic children who are taught by Catholic ‘certified’ teachers! Could it be that the issue isn’t education of the child but control of the child?

What is also disappointing in this address is that Bishop McKeown has always struck me as being a reasonable person, willing to see beyond the Church system and recognise the changing face of Northern Ireland and the needs of its people.  Yet now it seems he is advocating a continuation of segregation when the opinion polls and statistics show that Northern Ireland’s parents want integrated education for their children but are frequently denied the chance for access due to the political carve-up between the Boards and CCMS.

An integrated system also seems to be perceived as a threat by a vocal minority of teachers  in Maintained schools.  This  was revealed  to me when first introduced to a teacher from a Maintained school. On hearing that I was teaching in an integrated primary school her response was ‘Oh, you’re the Token Taig’.

Insulting, but it only reinforces my faith in what I do. With my Catholic colleagues in integrated schools, I am in the classroom  every day working to prepare the children for a better, more tolerant, Northern Ireland. We are secure in the belief that we’re doing the very job that all people should be doing – reaching out and helping to make the world a better place.

To read Bishop McKeown’s World Peace Day address please click here.