The right of the Roman Catholic Church to veto appointments to denominational schools goes against “the basic tenets of equal opportunities”, Willie Hart, Glasgow local secretary, said. His motion to end that situation was not about abolishing Catholic schools.
But Peter Lavery, North Lanarkshire, insisted: “The Church has a safeguard not a veto.”
Tom Donnelly, a self-confessed “cultural Catholic” who works in a non-denominational Glasgow secondary, hit back: “Safeguard from whom? Is the Catholic faith so fragile and unsure of itself that it cannot allow me to teach in a denominational school? It is an absolute disgrace that I can teach Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and Jews but not Catholics.”
Tom Murphy, Glasgow, said: ” Catholic schools are different and there is no point in disguising it. The EIS is big enough to house all opinions and beliefs.”
Delegates passed the motion by a large majority.
