CHURCH SCHOOLS IN BRITAIN

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26026, 1 February 1950, Page 5

CHURCH SCHOOLS IN BRITAIN

ROMAN CATHOLIC CLAIM

CARDINAL GRIFFIN URGES SETTLEMENT

LONDON, January 30. The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster (Cardinal Griffin) tonight Urged British -Roman Catholics to “press the justice” of the claim for a settlement of the Roman Catholic schools, problem to election candidates. “It is intolerable that we should be regarded as obstacles to progress in education simply because we refuse to accept the death sehtence for our schools,” he told a Roman Catholic schools rally in London. “We ask simply that in a Christian country Roman Catholics shall not be penalised for the Christian faith they hold.”

The Roman Catholics have long complained that school reorganisation and building, estimated to cost £20,000,600 under the 1944 Education Act (which required a higher standard of school accommodation) will now cost £60,000,000. The Roman Catholic hierarchy has proposed that if the local authorities will take over responsibility for all expenditure on schools, the Roman Catholic managers will lease the schools to the authorities at a nominal rent, give up all to appoint teachers and concede to the authorities the power of regulating the curriculum. One important reservation is that teachers would have to be approved by the church as regards religious beliefs and character. Religious- education would remain under the control of the managers as before. This plan has been rejected by the Government and the Conservative and Liberal Parties have said recently that they cannot support the Roman Catholic request. . _ x ... Cardinal Griffin said to-night. “Roman Catholic parents would be flouting the law of God if they were willins to entrust the education of their children to teachers who may be rationalists or atheists.”