[Greens-Media] Pell plan needs careful government scrutiny

[John Kaye]

Pell plan needs careful government scrutiny
 
Media Release: 4 June 2007
 
NSW Education Minister John Della Bosca should take a careful look at
the move by Archbishop Pell to impose a loyalty oath on Catholic school
principals, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye.
 
Dr Kaye said: “The Archbishop’s draft pastoral plan will put many
principals and their deputies in a difficult position.
 
“By demanding doctrinal loyalty to the Church and its teachings the
plan compromises the independence of principals and their
responsibilities as educators.
 
“Archbishop Pell is a self-confessed climate sceptic, dismissing and
misinterpreting the scientific evidence on the impact of increased
greenhouse gas on global warming.
 
“He has put on record attitudes to homosexuality that run counter to
the accepted community standards of tolerance and non-discrimination. He
has suggested, for example,  that homosexuals recruit other homosexuals
and he reportedly denied that there was any link between youth suicide
and the active condemnation of homosexuals.  
 
“Many principals would find these attitudes deeply troubling and that
they run counter to their view of what constitutes a healthy educational
environment.
 
“The NSW government gives the Catholic Education Office more than $348
million each year. Public funding accounts for 80% of the total
expenditure of Catholic systemic schools.
 
“The NSW state government has an obligation to ensure that this money
is spent on education that  is sound and in an environment that respects
the children.
 
“The demand for doctrinal loyalty from some parents may undermine these
outcomes if  Archbishop Pell seeks to impose his will on Catholic
schools in NSW.
 
“It is time that the NSW government used its funding to ensure that
children in Catholic schools and their teachers and principals are
protected from Archbishop Pell’s plans,” Dr Kaye said.
 
For more information:       John Kaye 0407 195 455
 
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John Kaye
Greens member of the NSW Parliament
phone: (02) 9230 2668
fax: (02) 9230 2586
mobile: 0407 195 455
email: John.Kaye at parliament.nsw.gov.au
 
mail: Parliament House, Macquarie St, Sydney NSW 2000