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Divini Illius Magistri – The Catholic School – Part 11

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In the previous article in this series Pope Pius XI addressed the question of the supposed neutral or lay school. He continues by looking again at the nature of a Catholic school. From this we can see that most, if not all, of the Catholic schools in Ireland do not conform to the correct model for a Catholic school.

The case outlined above, did not apply to Ireland. In 1961, the percentage of Catholics in Ireland peaked at 94.9% of the population. The schools at that time were Catholic but the changes were about to be implemented which would see the corruption of the Catholic schools through a series of compromises in how the Catholic faith was taught. There is a direct connection between the loss of the pure Catholic ethos of the Irish Catholic schools and the subsequent loss of faith amongst the population of Ireland. This connection is not acknowledged by the Irish hierarchy who continue to blindly follow the progressive educational ideologues which continues to lead young children away from the practice of Catholic faith. In 2022, the percentage of self-proclaimed Catholics in Ireland had fallen to 69% of the population, the lowest on record.

Catholic parents in Ireland have recently begun to found independent Catholic schools due to the shortcomings of the State funded Catholic schools. These State funded schools are Catholic in name but not in practice. There is also a growing home-school movement in Ireland as more parents realise that the State controlled Catholic schools represent a real danger to the Catholic faith of their children.

The support that Pope Pius XI extended to Catholic parents who sought to protect the Catholic education of their children has not been as graciously forthcoming from the Irish bishops. The Irish bishops do not seem to be fully aware of the problems that are being caused by the Catholic schools of which they are the patrons. They do not admit that there are major problems with the subjects that are being taught in these schools. They continue to support these schools even though the secular State controls what is taught. In the case of human sexuality, the Irish bishops have recommended a programme called ‘Flourish’ which supports the Health Services Executive, which is Ireland’s largest abortion provider and which distributes free contraceptives to children, as a “good resource” for information on human sexuality. The Pontifical Council for the Family, in its document ‘The Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality’, has described the graphic information provided by the HSE as an abuse of children! This is what the Irish bishops are supporting!

The Flourish Programme, recommended by the Irish Bishops, saying that the HSE is a ‘good Resource’ for human sexuality

Once again the point is made that good Catholics make the best citizens of any society because they respect legitimate authority as coming from God.

The sad reality today is that children, even in Catholic primary schools, are being introduced to authors and to ideologies which contradict Catholic Church teaching and thereby corrupt the minds of these very young children. That this goes largely unopposed by the Catholic hierarchy is a scandal of enormous proportions. Those of us who take a public stand against this scandal are often vilified. This scandal can make parents angry because their children’s faith is being endangered, but, rather that deal with the actual problem of the materials that are being presented to children, or questioning whether or not there is any justification to their anger, these parents concerns are usually dismissed. The faulty education is thus allowed to continue and the situation simply grows worse. Our Lord’s words in chapter eighteen of St Matthew’s Gospel are seen as mere rhetoric rather than as a severe condemnation of the corruption of children by what is permitted in Catholic schools.

Both philosophy and Latin have been abandoned in our Catholic schools. Our modern Catholic educators seem to regard that which is old as being opposed to that which is deemed progressive. These blind guides cannot see the connection between their modern educational methods and the widespread collapse in the practice of the Catholic faith of those who are subject to these new methods of education. When some parents raise objections, resort is had to ‘ad hominem’ attacks claiming that these parents want to live in some glorious age of the past. Nothing could be further from the truth. These Catholic parents simply want a solid Catholic education for their children which is not being provided by the Catholic schools of our present day.

Pope Pius XI now deals with another modern day problem of Catholic schools. It is no longer a requirement that those who teach in Catholic schools are themselves faithful Catholics.

Thank God there are still some good teachers in our Catholic schools, but many of our teachers have themselves been corrupted by modern ideologies which are harmful to children. In Ireland, the largest teachers’ union promotes the homosexual lifestyle to children as young as four years old. They do this by promoting books such as ‘King and King’, which tells the story of two princes falling in love and getting married. All of which is presented to four year old children as being perfectly normal and acceptable.

A high price will eventually be paid for this corruption of children. As these children grow to adulthood, their erroneous thinking will come to dominate the political and social culture. We are already witnessing this with the promotion of abortion legislation throughout the western world. There is an urgent need to reform the Catholic schools of Ireland and the western world so that they once again conform to the norm for a Catholic school. Children should be taught what it means to be Holy. They should be taught to follow Jesus Christ by accepting all that the Catholic Church teaches.

To be cont’d…

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