Control of York school

In the "Rocky Road to York Catholic schools re-organisation" (News Analysis, December 1) your reporter states: "The nun's case for control of the new school is a strong one, and has overwhelming support and backing by the Catholic community."
Only a handful of Catholics in York have seen the proposals. How, then, has he reached this conclusion?
When the governing bodies of St Margaret Clitherow and St George's agreed to allow the proposals to go forward to the local education authority, they did so with reserve Lions in order not to delay the submission missing certain deadlines.
The main debate and objections have still to come. Only then will the opinion of York Catholics be known. The final test, or course, will be when the children vote with their feet.
Canon Law (1,113) states: "The parents are bound by a most serious obligation to provide to the best of their ability for the religious and moral, as well as the physical and civil education of their children, and to care for their temporal well being."
The Church and the State have their responsibilities in this regard, but no matter what they do nor do not do, the parental responsibility, inherent with procreation, can never be usurped or abdicated.
The Bar Convent School over decades has refused to co-operate with parents and clergy in the town to create provision for a boys' grammar school. It was only last year (not 1975) when the IBVM lost their direct-grant status, that they agreed to "co-operate", providing that they could have control at governor and staff levels.
Parents and lay teachers are going to be excluded from participation in the running of the new school. This is confirmed in your report: "There is so little distinction between the convent and the school buildings. The classrooms are side by side with the nuns' private rooms."
The IBVM and the chairman of the Bar Convent governors (Fr Barry, OSB), are insisting that the headship should be an IBVM in order that this situation be perpetuated. Is this in the best interests of the children at the school?
The Taylor Report recommends strongly that parents and teachers be involved in the governorship of schools, and yet Canon Rickaby has already found a reason for not implementing it in this new school.
Fr Thos Cullinan, OSB, in his paper "Roots of Social Injustice," states: "Preoccupation with money creates poverty, pre-occupation with power creates powerlessness." If York parents were to agree with the present proposals, we would be contributing to an injustice which would be inflicted on present and future generations.
We have the opportunity now of creating a good school for children of both sexes and all abilities. We all know the success of any school is directly related to the ability of the head.
For this reason the head should be selected from the widest possible number of applicants, including the religious orders, and not one small section of the Catholic community whose expertise is in teaching privileged girls exclusively.
When It comes to discussing expenditure, a very large sum is involved. We should ask "Where does this money come from?" not just "Who are its present custodians?"
We intend to co-operate with all interested parties to create the best possible school. The present scheme falls far short of this ideal.
John Hirst St George's Parent Teacher Association York