Catholic church to lose stronghold on Irish education system

Given the stranglehold they had over it, perhaps that's not such a bad idea. After all, we are a republic.

I'm very proud to be Catholic having been raised by a wonderful Irish Catholic dad who was born in the early 1920's. His upbring was difficult but his teaching of the faith was lovely. It is because of him that I'll never leave the church. God bless his soul! We must pray for all priests, most of them are true to their vocation.

Church and State should be separate with the laws of the state caring for all. Canon law should be abolished. Members of the clergy should not be above the law of the land.

The Irish are finally acting like they have a brain. After being "generationally brain washed" by the Roman Catholic Hierarachy, they see what not "paying attention" truly means. Letting someone else do your thinking for you, will always end up with them in change and youlooking like a complete fool. That's what is but you're finally waking up to the reality of your neglect.Don't let them get a hold of your very being, as they have for millenium(s)

@barneyjo, I beggar to differ with you on this one. The present pope when he was head of the Congregation Of the Doctrine for the Faith, urged his Blessed predecessor John Paul 11 to hand over the case files for priests accused of sexual abuse to his office. Cardinal Josef Ratzinger as he was then, was emotionally effected by what he read. Previous to 2001, case-handling was very inadequate and wss spread over different Vatican congregations. By his actions, Ratzinger intended to expedite the application of Church law in these cases. Things are still far from perfect but the Vatican under this pope has considerably tightened up Church regulations concerning violation of minors. Newspapers such as the NY times have in vain tried to link Pope Benedict XVI to cover-ups in a few cases such as in Germany in the 80's and Minnesota in the 70's with regards to a particularly notorious pedophile case. In both instances there was a clear lack of evidence to back up the accusations which were nothing more than distortions of the facts. In 2005 during the obsequies for Pope John Paul 11, Cardinal Ratzinger used the powerful epithet 'filth' to describe the betrayal and sexual exploitation of the young by priests. He has also met on a number of occasions with victims of such abuse during his overseas journeys to different countries.

Sounds good to me. Separation of church and state is a good thing. Those who don't wish to educate their children via the Catholic church will now have a choice.

Ruairí Quinn Minister for education is right! If that gombeen is so interested in having national schools under the state patronage, instead of the Catholic Church, then let the government build the damn schools and pay for them - just as the Catholic Church did from day one. It's incredible how the government simply expects the Church to hand over the Patronage of these schools. Eaten bread is soon forgotten!!

Thank God. The union of church and state corrupts both.

I can't beleive the insidious abuse and betrayal of all Catholics, not only in Ireland continues to be played down so. If your serious in your concerns and the accountabilty, get a hold of Geoffery Robinsons book, The Case of the Pope: Vatican Accountability for Human Rights. It isn't derogatory against Benedict as it sounds, but really is worth reading. It shows how the Vatican beccame a member of the UN by stealth really, and the influence it has claimed worldwide and why the immunity it also claims is not valid, allowing it to get away with so much, it's incredible. We are all duped.

@Yankee724, to characterize the serial rape and molestation of children and systemic cover up of the same as "flaws", beggers the imagination. It is nothing less than rank criminality and should punished to the utmost extent of the law.I wouldn't be surprised if a frank talk w/ your daughters would make you wonder if your 25% saving was worth it.

I'm sorry, but I cannot share your opinion of the present Pope. In his previous role, Cardinal Josef Ratzinger as head of the Congregation for the propegation of the faith was well placed to know the scope and breadth of the harm caused by maverick priest abusers across the Catholic world. The trails of correspondence from bishops all leading to Rome containing pleas for assistance and direction in the handling of priest abusers do not serve to convince me of your assertion that Pope Benedict can be the leader of which you speak. Like many of his brother Bishops and priests, he has been damaged by this terrible problem. Regrettably, he is too much a part of the problem to allow him to be part of the solution.

@barneyjoe- The present pope is rather a good example of the man who is best to lead the Church globally. He nixes the humility and care of a humble pastor with the great intellect of a profound theologian steeped in Christ's teachings. At the level of the local Irish Catholic Church things in terms of leadership are not so clean-cut. As you have explained the credibility of the current and past members of the hierarchy has been shot to pieces by their cowardly cover-ups for the crimes of priests. The light in the tunnel might partially come through the recently high-powered Vatican delegations who investigated the state of priestly formation in seminaries and colleges around Ireland. Their reports may be crucial in pinpointing flaws in the present Irish system and their recommendations could help their eradication. Those steps will never be adequate in themselves. Above all we know prophetic voices from a hierarchy renewed by bishops not tainted with the much-publicised scandals. We also need a strong corps of laypeople taking up their full responsibilities in the Church in tandem with the clergy. I guess you might be skeptical regarding those prognostications, Barneyjo and wouldn't blame you. I understand your disillusionment but hopefully we can journey together as a pilgrim people to that source

@Gearoid4 - "A return to the Source which have nourished the roots of the Church for 2000 years is called for, namely Jesus Christ Himself" I agree totally, but who is there left to lead on that path who has not been so tainted by corruption, dishonesty and insincerity!!

@ronnie4u2o, While acknowledging the grave depth of the current abuse crisis which surrounds Catholicism, one can only say that if the institution was purely man-made it could not have lasted 2000 years. This is patently obvious when one considers the social and political upheavals which the Catholic Church had to face over the centuries. I think that if it was not for God's providence, then we would only be talking about Her in the past tense. The present crisis that the Church is mired in is due in large part to double-standards and toleration for sin in clerical and hierarchical circles with the concomitant loss of core Christian values. A return to the Source which have nourished the roots of the Church for 2000 years is called for, namely Jesus Christ Himself.

I am an American Catholic, and to send our two daughters to Catholic school for 12 years was the best thing we could have done. They got a "prep school" education for about 25% of the cost--with morality and truth about Jesus Christ as the biggest bonus. Yes, the Church has flaws, but the world with it's secular ignorance is much,much worse. Sad day for Ireland when it abandons its children to worldly ignorance.