Life is precious. It is among the most fundamental truths our faith proclaims, and it is a truth which our schools seek to imprint upon the hearts of every child entrusted to our care. It is therefore with great sorrow, and with profound concern, that I speak today about the violence which has erupted in parts of our society in recent days.
What we have witnessed has been shocking. It has been abhorrent. And it has absolutely no place on our streets, in our communities, or anywhere in the society we are collectively called to build. As Chairperson of the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools, I condemn these acts of violence unequivocally and without reservation. Violence solves nothing. It harms the innocent. It tears at the fabric of community life. And it stands in direct contradiction to every value we hold dear.
To those who have been attacked, injured, targeted, threatened or made to feel afraid in their own community you are not alone, and you are not forgotten.
Our Catholic Maintained schools have, since their very foundation, been places shaped by a simple but profound conviction that every human being, every child, every parent, every family carries within them a dignity, because every person is made in the image and likeness of God.
Our schools have always been, and will remain, places of genuine welcome and inclusion. We warmly embrace every child who comes through our doors regardless of their faith, nationality or background. This is at the very heart of who we are as a Catholic school community. We are called to see the face of Christ in every child, and to accompany every family with dignity and care.
Yet I cannot ignore what has also been reported to us in recent days. An unbearable consequence of the violence and tension in some communities has been that a number of families have, out of genuine and understandable fear, kept their children at home rather than send them to school.
No child should have to stay away from school because they are afraid. No parent should have to weigh the safety of their child against their right to an education. The fact that any family has felt that fear speaks to the gravity of what is happening.
It is at moments such as these that the true character of our school leaders is revealed and I can say, with deep pride and gratitude, that the principals, teachers and staff of our Catholic maintained schools have risen to meet this moment with grace and courage.
Across our schools, school leaders have reached out to families, offered reassurance, kept doors open and hearts wider still. They have made clear in deed as much as in word that every family is wanted, that every child is safe, and that the school community stands as a place of refuge and of belonging when the world outside feels threatening and uncertain. I am immensely proud of each and every one of them.
I now make a direct and heartfelt call to every school community to principals and governors, to teachers and support staff, to parents, parishes and all who form the broader family of our schools:
Reach out. Reach out to every family who may be hesitating. Reach out to every parent who is afraid. Let them know that your school is safe. That your community will protect them. That they belong.
It is on those foundations of safety, of solidarity, of unconditional welcome that our schools and our faith have always been built.
I ask for your prayers for peace in our communities, for healing for those who have been harmed, and for the courage to continue holding open the door of welcome wide, in all of our schools.
Bishop Donal McKeown
Chair, CCMS
Eamonn Broderick
Chief Executive, CCMS