Schools attack by priest angers teachers

1 I Special Correspondent A GROUP of Catholic headmasters at a service last week for Nottingham teachers, strongly criticised a London priest for claiming that "the Catholic school system was an expensive experiment which for the most part has failed."
The priest, Fr Oliver McTer
During his talk, Fr McTernan criticised the lack of Christian content in religious education. "There is little point in trying to teach young people about love unless first we try to teach them to he just," he said. "The concept of justice is basic to the message of Jesus.
"Yet each year thousands of young people leave our schools with little or no idea of what it is to be Christian. For the most part they share the same values and ideals of the society in which they live."
Mr T. A. Adams the headmaster of St Mary's Catholic School in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, who was present at the service, said that the talk had caused a certain amount of indignation among the Catholic teachers present at the meeting.
He said Fr McTernan had no authority to speak on the sub
hect, and agreed that his talk ad contained a "contentious statement".
Mr Adams was of the opinion that the Catholic school system had not failed. He said: "Catholic parents all feel that they're getting value for money." That was shown by the fact that in his own school the house was always full. Sister Patricia, headmistress of the Good Shepherd School, Arnold, near Nottingham, has referred the matter to Bishop McGuinness of Nottingham.
Mr James Stone, Nottinghamshire Director of Education, found Fr MeTernan's criticism of the Catholic school system "rather surprising", and said he had heard that a number of Catholic teachers present at the meeting had taken exception to it, The Rev Robert Bailey, the Anglican Director of Education for the diocese, said the service was a "shambles". He added: "It was pure sociology and politics. "The Gospel was not preached."
Fr McTernan's sermon was a party political statement on behalf of the Labour Party, he said. "And that was fairly tactless given the presence at the service of the Conservative chairman of the county council."
Fr McTernan was asked to speak at the service by a committee of teachers and Mr David Bennet, the religious education adviser to the Nottinghamshire County Council, who had the approval of Bishop McGuinness.
Mr Rennet referred to Fr McTernan as "one of the most forthright thinkers on Catholic education". He added that as far as he knew the "vast majority of Catholics present at the service thought that Fr McTernan's was a good sermon." It had been controversial, and had made people think.