Does your “personal choice” include your child’s?

Who is giving their time, money and life to helping the poorest in Society…. (no its not Well paid Mr Norris’ sorry senator,)

Pope Ratzinger not well paid? Or his cardinals and archbishops?

Not like they hold out the collection plates to the little old ladies in Mass or anything, never mind the riches of the Vatican City. Those who help the poor aren’t Catholics by necessity. Don’t mean to belittle the work that it does do but they’re not the only ones doing such work.

Since you mentioned Senator Norris, how about you acknowledge the work he did for a marginalised and persecuted minority in our population in Norris v Attorney General and subsequently Norris v Ireland? Just for starters like. Do a little research and you’ll see the good work he’s done for human rights.

…But every cult needs a way to capture new members – and what better way than to get them when they are at their very youngest!

They choose to attend a catholic college. Tough shit.

Alpine, incorrect, ALOT of people have no choice when it comes to schools for their kids.

Take where I live, nearest educate together school is over 30miles away, now how does a parent get their kid to that school?

The kid would have a crap quality of life spending so much time on buses to get to it…..but wait there is no public transport that would get them there.

I suppose a parent could drive them, but then what if the parent works in the opposite direction or doesn’t have a car or just can’t afford all that extra fuel.

My point so you are incorrect and short sighted to even suggest people have a choice when in reality they really don’t

Alpine – the Vatican controls around 93% of Irish primary schools and various Protestant churches control another 6%. Can you please tell us how parents can avoid having to send their kids to school controlled by religious organisations?

My understanding is that most kids get baptised shortly after birth by parents who CHOOSE to do so (not in schools as articulated by this poster). So they are "recruited" into the church long before they ever set foot in a school!

Hi, I think the decision to baptize children is often influenced by fears, whether based on reality or not, of kids not being able to get into schools. Luckily we have an ET school nearby, so we didn’t baptize, but it could have been different in another location. why can’t any of the religions provide their own outside school religious education – I would have thought it would be better for the religions anyway, groups of interested kids, more engagement with parents..

I think you miss the point that the schools are paid for by the state and tax from people of all religions and no religion. Therefore they are not your schools. There is simply a marriage of education to Catholic religion which is dated and does not proportionally represent the people. More than 95% of the people are not Catholic.

You got the point spot on. If they don’t like it go, to educate together or multiple denominational. Don’t go to a catholic school and then complain about being taught catholic beliefs. There are plenty of other schools of other denominations around.

“Leave all the catholic schools to catholics whose they are” Since when did the ‘catholics’ own all the schools? They might run them thanks to the policies of successive governments and the fact that they were given free reign by De Valera after independence but it’s the tax payers or should I say the German tax payer who pays for them and their upkeep, not all of whom are catholics. If catholics want to to teach their kids fairytales then knock yourselves out, but keep it in your churches and out of the schools where the majority of people would prefer their children were educated using facts and reality!

I’m guessing the church will pay the teachers as well – is that before or after they pay compensation to victims of abuse, which they seem to be coming up short on?

Alpine = Troll.

I hope you are being ironic. I would not have thought abusing children a good job.

“This state’s success was built on adherence to a strict moral code, a christian ethos”

Jesus done all the good stuff but his followers ruined it!

Colin, your comments are a disgrace. The weaker are always the easier prey.

Lets not forget who Colin is supporting in the presidents race. A candidate that has extreme views himself.
The apple does not fall far from the tree.

Why is the church (and I expect you mean the catholic cult) involved in education in the first place surely their job is to save souls, they could start with all their own pedophiles and thugs and work out from there. Oddballs like you need to stop defending the perverts in your cult and open your eyes to the real world. Sadly as long as there are people like you to defend them the pervy priests will continue to abuse safe in the knowledge that there are people out there who see no wrong in what they do and how they and their masters in Rome deal with the victims. Well done, Colin give yourself a big christian pat on the back.

i went to a christian brothers in dublin along with many of my uncles, cousins and friends. not one of use ever seen sexual abuse (they were stern bastards,dont get me wrong) and my family have all turned out to be people with high standing jobs, apart from myself that became an electrician but now doing a level 8 and hope to join that group. i get the feeling every day that the liberal left wants to demonize the entire catholic religion even with all the good they in the world.

@Diego, so an electrician is not “a high standing” job? What exactly is a high standing job? Where is the cut-off point that determines a low standing job? With elitist views like that, I think you’ve failed to grasp the very basics of your christian (catholic) education. In case you can’t work it out for yourself, Jesus was about as left-wing socialist as you could get.

Diego. The vast majority of Irish people went to a catholic school. Therefore those without high standing jobs also did. If you extended your survey to be a correct representation it might hold more sway with me. I would also be more impressed if you came from a family living in near squalor and had the same thing to say about the church and your familiy’s high standing jobs. You’re making a very black and leap from cause to effect.

They done a good job on lots of kids alright sick Fcks…let’s get a new education system going teaching kids all types of religions,buddism,spirituality and even evolution and let them make their own minds up

Most of the abuse was actually done by non-clerical teachers. And still being done.

…And since when has anyone in Rome listened to the people without pressure being brought to bare and what they actually want?
Rome only sees rules and laws when they suit their agenda – otherwise they are ignored.

isn’t it possible to be both?

Is the essence of totalitarianism not the brainwashing of children? What is the “formation” of Catholic children but brainwashing? Why are you afraid to leave children alone until they mature? Is it because you know religious belief would collapse in a generation?