‘Parents must prepare children for sacraments’, says religious educator

Catholic parishes and parents must play a bigger role in preparing children for sacraments as pressure increases to reduce the time for religious education in schools, a leading theologian said.

‘Parents must prepare children for sacraments’, says religious educator

Fr Eugene Duffy, a lecturer in religious education at one of the country’s main colleges for primary teachers, said schools cannot reasonably be expected to continue providing the level of faith formation needed to prepare pupils for first communion and confirmation.

Pressure is mounting to cut the amount of time given to religion in primary schools, currently prescribed at 2.5 hours a week. The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment proposes that schools be given more freedom on how to use the remaining 40% of the week after providing for core subjects which could see each school decide what time is used to teach religion.

Fr Duffy has organised a conference at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, next month to discuss ways of how best to prepare primary pupils for Catholic sacraments. He said teachers in faith schools are already challenged trying to give 2.5 hours a week to religious education in an overburdened curriculum.

“In addition, many teachers no longer practise their faith and feel compromised in having to offer faith formation when they don’t believe what they are teaching. Preparing children for the sacraments simply increases the pressure on them,” he said.

He acknowledges that many pupils receiving sacraments are from homes where parents are not practising, or often not believers in the school’s faith. This, he said, places an extra burden on teachers and the parish to be sensitive to children who want to feel part of what friends are celebrating.

On the other hand, significant numbers of parents still want to have their children educated in their faith and to be adequately prepared for the sacraments.

“Many of them feel inadequate to the task themselves and are very happy to have the school do this on their behalf. Similarly, the parish sees the school as its agent in preparing the children for the sacraments,” said Fr Duffy.

“However, amidst all of the competing agendas, it is unreasonable to expect that the schools will continue to be able to provide the level of formation that is required. Therefore, more responsibility will continue to devolve on to parents and local faith communities in preparing children to receive the sacraments in a meaningful way.”

The May 12 and 13 conference will hear about how to co-ordinate the responsibilities of families, schools and parishes, and examples of best practice by Catholic and Church of Ireland communities.

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