ESS accused of pursuing an ideological agenda

Employment & Social Security is under fire because it wants to prohibit the current requirement that senior staff at Blanchelande College, and Notre Dame du Rosaire and St Mary & St Michael primary schools must be practising Catholics.

The Church has warned that the schools may have to close because the move threatens their founding ethos.

Such is the level of concern that Bishop Philip Egan and other representatives of the Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth travelled to Guernsey at the weekend for a meeting with 11 sympathetic politicians.

Deputy Bob Murray, who will lead an amendment to maintain the status quo in the States this week, said people were losing faith in ESS.

‘At the heart of it we all agree that the proposals go far too far and the question is why.

‘In the face of the difficulties that ESS would raise with international legal treaties, and the costs, it’s difficult to understand why ESS is pursuing this. Personally I believe it’s ideology and I suspect a lot more people believe the same.’

Deputy Murray is leading the amendment on behalf of the Education Committee.

He said the committee was concerned about ESS’s proposal for a five-year limit on an exemption for faith schools.

Bishop Philip Egan said he was heartened by the meeting, and was praying that Deputy Murray’s amendment would be successful.

He said the Church supported anti-discrimination legislation, but not when it ‘crossed a line’ and ended up discriminating against Catholic education.

‘Not being able to appoint a Catholic headteacher I think would be a death blow and we would have to, sadly, consider whether we could continue with our Catholic schools here,’ he said.

Within the Diocese of Portsmouth there are 75 Catholic schools, and none of them, except the three in Guernsey, are facing this specific anti-discrimination rule.

School principals were also at the meeting. Robert O’Brien, the principal of Blanchelande College, said inclusivity and acceptance was an intrinsic value in their schools.

‘This policy letter threatens to pluck the heart out of the Catholic schools. This law would effectively remove the ethos which has been of so much benefit to so many children over so many years and that would be a great pity for Guernsey.’

Deputies Peter Roffey, Lindsay de Sausmarez, John Gollop, Tina Bury and Steve Falla make up the committee of ESS.

Last week Deputy De Sausmarez issued a statement setting out the committee’s views.

‘As a general principle, we don’t believe people should be discriminated against because of their faith if they are, in every other respect, the best person for the job.’

Deputy Peter Ferbrache, the chief minister, hosted the weekend meeting and he said it was ‘difficult to predict’ whether the amendment would succeed this week.

He was sure though that the approach taken by ESS was not sensible.

‘It’s completely misguided,’ he said.

‘My own view is it’s intolerant, and it’s dogma and creed writ large.’