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Catholic schools.

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Greatnan Tue 15-Nov-11 22:59:01

I believe there has been a sharp falling-off in the number of parents applying for places in Catholic schools for their children, in spite of the much vaunted academic achievements. The response of the church to the child abuse scandal has severely dented people's trust - the latest way of avoiding paying the compensation so richly deserved is to say that the Church is not the employer of priests. The Church hires them, fires them and provides 'benefits in kind' in the shape of board and lodging. Some dioceses in Canada tried to declare themselves bankrupt in order to avoid making payment. This is not the kind of contrition and reparation that the Church promised.
It must be terrible to be a priest, monk or nun and to know that you are viewed with suspicion, no matter how innocent you may be. If you are a Catholic, have you lost any of your trust in the Church?

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ftleftie Thu 20-Sept-12 20:06:29

I was in a convent from age 6 to 11 and I would have to say that all it did for me was to instil me with terror about dying, so much so that I had panic attacks whenever I went into a church and the nuns thought I was possessed. The consequences were long lasting - in fact I never really shook off the old catholic guilt thing until I finally met the Unitarians. A lovely religion that doesn't have any creed, or rules, just encourages all to journey along together as we find our own spiritual way. It's home to atheists, agnostics, humanists, Buddhists and a whole heap of others who don't necessarily label themselves. Children just learn about all sorts of world stories and religions and choose for themselves when they are ready. I just wish I had been around them when I was growing up, it might have saved me a lot of heartache.

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Greatnan Thu 20-Sept-12 21:16:19

There is that ghasty hymn - Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.
No wonder some children had problems going to sleep!

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vampirequeen Thu 20-Sept-12 23:05:46

It's not so bad now. In the school I worked in we taught that you were assured a place in heaven as long as you were truely sorry for anything you had done that offended God. So basically we reassured them.

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