But no more.
From London:
A document issued by the Catholic Education Service said facilities for other faiths should be made available in all primary and secondary schools if possible.There's more detail at the link.
Catholic schools in England and Wales should also consider adapting toilet facilities to accommodate ritual cleansing, the document said.
The guidance also said "respectful understanding" should be shown to pupils of other faiths who are withdrawn from or remain silent during Christian worship.
The advice - issued on behalf of the Catholic bishops of England and Wales – comes in response to new rules forcing all state schools to promote "community cohesion".
Schools must foster race relations and religious tolerance to stop communities becoming divided.
It followed a warning from the Commission for Racial Equality that Britain's segregated schools are "a ticking time bomb waiting to explode".
In a document, the Catholic Church said around 30 per cent of pupils in Catholic schools were from other faiths or none.
The Most Rev Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Birmingham, and chairman of the Church's education board, said: "Dialogue with other faiths is a consistent theme in the life of the Catholic Church. Such dialogue is conducted in many parishes and neighbourhoods, in colleges, universities and other academic circles.
"It has become increasingly important as the presence of other faith communities grows and becomes more evident in our society."
The guidance said schools should consider putting aside a prayer room "if reasonably practicable" for use by staff and pupils from other faiths.
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13 comments:
What's next, mandatory religion classes teaching the faiths of all religions?
The Bishop of Birmingham is on the "short list" of those mentioned as likely to become the next Archbishop of Westminster, and a Cardinal, the senior prelate of the English/Welsh Catholic Church.
We might start seeing R.C. parishes begin to join African or U.S. Dioceses just like their Anglican brethren.
what kind of "community cohesion" is there when everyone is worshipping in different rooms?
How does it "stop communities from becoming divided" to parcel out different prayer rooms for each persuasion.
Most school chapels are barren and sterile enough that there is little to offend non-christians, and pupils spend little time there anyway. (in my 30 years on this earth we've gone from daily mass to MONTHLY mass). Besides, at least here in the states many schools celebrate mass in the gymnasium anyway.
My wife works at a Jesuit high school where to get to the school chapel is "down the hall, just past the buddhist prayer room".
"The beatings will continue until morale (& community cohesion) improve!"
I think this is a good development because it will bring Catholics into more contact with other faiths and prayer traditions which will enrich our own faith and prayer life.
God Bless
Catholic schools are about learning the Faith, not the faith of others. But, of course, this is England we're talking about, and England loves to be inclusive and PC.
I'm completely baffled by this. A Catholic school is, by definition, Catholic. People of other faiths who send their children there know this and still choose to send them. They could easily send them elsewhere. And this has been true for years and years. There is simply no logic in this suggestion. It doesn't promote anything positive.
As a Catholic parent, please remind me why I would pay to send children to such schools
Deacon:
"The special character of the Catholic school, the underlying reason for it, the reason why Catholic parents should prefer it, is precisely the quality of the religious instruction integrated into the education of the pupils." - Pope John Paul II Catechesi Tradendae
where interreligious prayer rooms fit in with this is beyond me.
Chris,
insofar as these encounters provide the opportunity for apologetics and evangelization you are correct that it will enrich the faith of the youth.
Perhaps we should look again at the etymology of the word "Catholic".
Good point, Scott. Let's look at it, shall we?
catholic (adj) meaning "universal;
First used to describe Christians by bishop and martyr, Ignatius of Antioch who wrote "wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church." (Letter to the Smyrneans, 8.2)
Earlier in this same letter, Ignatius also writes, "Let no one be deceived! Even the heavenly powers and angels in their splendor and the principalities, both visible and invisible, must either believe in the Blood of Christ, or else face damnation."
In other letters Ignatius exhorts his audience to "seek unity, shun divisions." and to "Be concerned with unity, the greatest of blessings."
I fail to see how the multiple prayer rooms fulfills this end or make a school any more "catholic".
Mr Basso,
Because to be Catholic is to be united in our diversity and to love our neighbours as we love ourselves.
As we seek places of Catholic prayer for ourselves, so we do unto others as we would have them do unto us, by doing what we can to provide places of prayer for those of other faiths.
The regular rythmn of Muslim prayer throughout the day has a lot to teach most Catholics, and, like all good things to be found in other faiths, assists us to discover this tradition in the richness of our own faith (the Divine Office - the psalms of which are recommended twice in the Qu'ran).
God Bless
Chris,
why use the Muslim cycle of daily prayer to help Catholics "discover" the divine office. Why not just teach students (as I do) how to pray the divine office?
The Golden rule is a wonderful maxim, but I don't think it should be used to coerce a school to provide space and resources for people of other faiths to worship in their own way, especially not when attending a catholic school is a matter of choice.
At my school we are particularly short on room, with most teachers sharing classrooms during their "free" period. with space at such a premium it seems absurd to dictate that we designate space for people of other faiths to worship.
And again, it begs the question put forth by Deacon Dodge, "why should i pay to send my child to a catholic school when that money is allocated to creating a non-catholic worship space"?
if by being "united in our diversity" you mean exposing students to other rites within the Catholic Church, or the rich tradition of byzantine art and prayer (for example)or having a special mass for nostra senora de guadalupe in spanish as we do at my school, then by all means, yes, let us embrace that diversity. but if you mean "let's create a culture in which we deny the centrality of the trinity, incarnation, and paschal mystery in the salvation of mankind in order to make students of other faiths feel at home, I am afraid you are mistaken - that is not what it means to be Catholic.
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