St_Patricks_Primary_School_Burrenreagh_Northern_Ireland.JPG
St. Patricks Primary School, Burrenreagh, Northern Ireland

President Barack Obama is visiting Northern Ireland forĀ G8 Summit at the Lough Erne resort in Enneskillen. Ā On his short 2-day trip he managed to offend supporters of religious education in Northern Ireland and undermined a recent statement from the Vatican on Catholic education in Northern Ireland.

Ian Dunn of theĀ Scottish Catholic ObserverĀ reports:

President Barack Obama, repeated the oft disproved claim that Catholic education increases division in front of an audience of 2000 young people, including many Catholics, at Belfastā€™s Waterfront hall when he arrived in the country this morning.

ā€œIf towns remain dividedā€”if Catholics have their schools and buildings and Protestants have theirs, if we canā€™t see ourselves in one another and fear or resentment are allowed to hardenā€”that too encourages division and discourages cooperation,ā€ the US president said.

The US politician made the unfounded claim despite a top Vatican official spelling out the undeniable good done by Catholic education in a speech in Glasgow on Saturday and in his homily at Mass on Friday.

Archbishop Gerhard MĆ¼ller (below), prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, told an audience in Scotland that Catholic education provided a rare place where ā€˜intellectual training, moral discipline and religious commitment would come togetherā€™ while giving the presitigous Cardinal Winning Lecture on Saturday to officially launch the St Andrews Foundation for Catholic teacher education at Glasgow University. During Mass at St Andrewā€™s Cathedral, Glasgow, on Friday night he said that ā€˜the Catholic school is vitally important ā€¦ a critical component of the Church,ā€™ adding that Catholic education provides young people with a wonderful opportunity to ā€˜grow up with Jesus.ā€™

Well done Mr. President, this gives us an idea how he views private religious schools here as well.

Photo credit: Eric JonesĀ via GeographĀ (CC-By-SA 2.0)

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