Amnesty faces ban from British Catholic schools

BY MIGUEL CULLEN
BRITAIN’S Catholic schools may disband their Amnesty groups following the group’s decision to adopt a pro-abortion policy, it has emerged.
“We would support schools in drawing away from Amnesty,” said a Scottish Catholic Education Service spokesman Michael McGrath.
His comments accompanied a decision by Holyrood RC Secondary School in Glasgow to wrap up its Amnesty group.
“Obviously schools have to take their own position but I would not expect any Catholic schools to now affiliate themselves with Amnesty, though of course they will continue to work on social issues,” he said.
A spokeswoman for the Catholic Education Service (CES), an agency of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, said that the final decision lay with the individual school.
She said: “That’s not a decision we could make. It’s up to the individual governing bodies. It is important for an organisation to fit in with a school’s religious position.” In an official statement Oona Stannard, chief executive of the CES, said she did expect schools to use Catholic values to inform this decision. “The bottom line should be: can I be sure that my energy or money will be used in ways that are life-supporting?” The moves have alarmed Amnesty, which stresses that compromise is the solution. In a response to Mr McGrath’s statement, a spokesman said: “We would not ask or expect youth groups at Catholic schools to take action on this issue. [But hope] that young people attending Catholic schools in the diocese can continue their important work for human rights worldwide.” Mr McGrath’s statement came as Holyrood RC Secondary School, the biggest school in Europe, decided to discontinue its school group because the Amnesty policy was “one-sided and unwilling to account for the pro-life viewpoint”.
Mr McGrath also urged Catholics to confront Amnesty. “We would encourage them to question Amnesty and challenge why they have now taken this new abortion stance,” he said.
Meanwhile Amnesty appeared frustrated over the “public confusion” at its position, making it clear that “Amnesty is not pro-abortion” but seeks to remove the criminal sanctions that prevent women from seeking abortions.
Church leaders around the world have boycotted the group in protest.