Support given for Catholic schools
THE heads of the Anglican and Methodist Church have lent their support to Catholic schools continuing to appoint Catholic headteachers and are urging States members to exempt the schools from the discrimination proposals.
In an open letter to deputies, Dean the Very Rev. Tim Barker and the Rev. Howard Stringer, Superintendent Minister of the Methodist Church, said that while they may take a different view to the Catholics on the place and role of church schools, based on their experience, they nonetheless ‘recognise the long-standing importance the Roman Catholic Church places on its schools and its commitment to high quality education for all.
‘Central to that commitment is a profound belief that Catholic schools should be led by Catholics.’
The ministers support the States’ commitment to end discrimination, although they recognise that this ‘apparently simple and desirable aim’ has some difficulties.
The policy letter from Employment & Social Security stated that there should be ‘appropriate and proportionate’ exceptions to the discrimination proposals for Christian churches and other groups for who exceptions were ‘essential to their identity and integrity’.
‘We simply urge you, and your fellow deputies, to recognise that, for the Roman Catholic Church, it is essential that the exception is extended “to allow religion or belief to be taken into account in the recruitment to senior leadership positions in religious schools”,’ they said.
This would be ‘proportionate and pragmatic’ and in the spirit of the ordinance to prevent discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief.
