There is a remarkable statistic concerning Irish education, which may add a new layer to the current controversy surrounding the role of a Catholic ethos in the admissions policies of primary schools, writes Mary Raftery
This ethos appears at best a somewhat nebulous concept. It has been harnessed as an excuse to exclude some children from Catholic schools on the basis that they are of the wrong religion. In the peculiar world of Irish education, it seems that ethos can equate to a form of sectarian gatekeeping.
But so far, not even those most opposed to the concept of a Catholic ethos in schools have ever accused it of being responsible for making children fat. This, however, is one possible interpretation of the results of an international survey which compared the performance of a number of countries in the area of educational provision and achievement.
Carried out by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), it looked at the amounts of time devoted to various subjects during the school day across 28 countries. These, it should be remembered, comprise most of the developed world.
For the basic subjects, Ireland was in the average range. However, we scored top of the class in one area - we devote more time than any other country (two and a half times more) to religious instruction. At the same time, we are bottom of the pile for the amount of time we allow for physical education, less than everywhere else in the developed world.
It is high time we began to ask ourselves whether the religious ethos of the overwhelming majority of our primary schools in this country might have anything to do with the hugely disproportionate amount of time our children spend on religious instruction.
With slightly less time devoted to making them holy, perhaps they might end up healthier, were that time instead to be devoted to physical activity. And in the context of a growing problem of obesity in children, the current balance becomes increasingly absurd.
The setting of the curriculum is, of course, the job of the State. It is one of the few inputs that democratically elected representatives have into Irish educational structures. The OECD comparative figures, however, illustrate just how deeply permeated by religion the Irish system remains.
However, to even the most fervent advocates of denominational (primarily Catholic) control of schools, there must be something distasteful in the spectacle of children being excluded purely on the basis that they are not Catholic.
This, after all, constitutes the definition of discrimination. Such a practice would make one of the 20th century's most prominent Catholics, commemorated in Ireland this week, turn in his grave. The concept of discriminating against any child on the basis of race, colour or creed was anathema to Fr Edward Flanagan, the Irish-born founder of Boys Town in the USA. He grew up in Ballymoe, Co Galway, which this week hosted Hollywood star Mickey Rooney to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the founding of Boys Town.
Flanagan had worked away quietly, providing sanctuary to destitute and troubled boys for over two decades, when he was shot to international fame in 1938 by the Hollywood movie Boys Town, in which Mickey Rooney played a delinquent youth and Spencer Tracy won the Oscar for best actor for his portrayal of the Irish priest.
Flanagan was known on this side of the Atlantic for his criticism of the treatment of children in our reformatories and industrial schools when he visited Ireland in 1946. He famously described these institutions as a disgrace to the nation, bringing down on his head the wrath of conservative Ireland.
In the US, Flanagan's philosophy was revolutionary. He believed that all needy boys were entitled to his help, regardless of which faith they practised. From the very earliest days of Boys Town, he took in Catholic, Protestant and Jewish children alike, both black and white, a policy that proved deeply unpopular with sections of US society, where ethnic and religious segregation was the norm.
Flanagan however fought these narrow and sectarian ideologies. It was his belief that a true Catholic ethos meant that no one should be excluded, that discrimination based on religion was profoundly wrong, and that sectarianism had no place in the care or education of children.
"I see no disaster threatening us because of any particular race, creed or colour," Flanagan said, adding that he did, however, perceive "dangers for us all in an ideology which discriminates against anyone because he was born into a different race or worshipped at a different altar." The extraordinary success of what is now Girls and Boys Town in caring for tens of thousands of destitute and troubled children in the US is a testament to Fr Flanagan's determination to fight segregation and sectarianism.
There is much that the Catholic Church in Ireland might learn from him.