What's up with Ireland?

[Pat Mustard]

DUBLIN — The Roman Catholic Church has lost the battles over divorce, contraception and gay marriage in Ireland. But it still wields what some parents call the “baptism barrier”: influencing admission to public schools.

Judging by their track record it looks like they are going to go 0 for 4.  Good to see the church take it up the ass..... although the pervs probably like it.

I wouldn't be sure that the rcc still hasn't a long future in the schools. Education is by far the most conservative department in the state, no wonder when you spend eight years in religious primary school, 6 in religious secondary school, and 4 in religious university (all teacher training colleges in Ireland are run by religious orders). Primary schools have to spend half an hour a day on religious instruction, plus the month each in 94% os schools for communion and confirmation, thats nearly two whole years learning about Jebus.

Recently a secular group were denied the right to patron a state funded school in Cork. If they were successful they would have been the first state school (outside of third level) without a religious ethos to inform every decision.