School heads want union to recognize church schools’ ‘Catholic identity’

Church school heads are rallying behind the Maltese church’s plans to block promotions to higher or sensitive teaching posts to candidates who cannot prove they are “practicing Catholics”.

In a letter, the Church Schools Committee (CSA) within the Private Schools Association expressed their support for the document ‘The Identity and Mission of Catholic Education’, part of which was first published in MaltaToday after the Secretariat for Catholic Education initiated a consultation process on the identity and mission of church schools.

Heads of Catholic schools are being asked by the Maltese archdiocese to discuss new terms of employment that will guarantee that schools’ head teachers and other staff can be safely considered to be “practising Catholics” – or face disciplinary action if their “life choices give scandal or run counter to the ethos of the school”.

The document will lay down requirements that will forbid top school posts to be occupied by people who do not share the Catholic faith or “do not adhere in their substantive life choices to the teachings of the Catholic Church”.

In their letter – signed by St Aloysius College head Fr Jimmy Bartolo,
Fr Silvio Bezzina (St Paul’s Missinoary College)
Fr Eric Cachia (Savio College)
St Aloysius primary school head Daniela Camilleri Sacco, Fr Mark Ellul
(Archbishop’s Seminary), St Joseph School head Mariuccia Fenech,
St Augustin College head Reuben Mifsud, and De La Salle College primary school head Mariella Vella – the CSA claimed that protecting the Catholic heritage of schools was part of parents universal right to give their children the education they think is best for them.

The Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) said that it would take all necessary action to protect members from what it deems to be a ‘medieval’ move.  “Employment by the Church in Malta is governed by Maltese Law, which clearly does not allow for such odious distinctions to regulate the selection or promotion of employees.

But the CSA, which represents 52 schools, claims that the MUT is not appreciative enough of the diversity of the church schools and instead considering them “as if they all had the same ethos, charisma and leadership models.”

“We would like to draw the attention of the MUT to the many existing collective agreements between dioceses and teachers’ unions in different countries, within Europe and beyond, in which the Catholic identity and the quality and philosophy of Catholic schooling and the public perception of it are safeguarded by mutual consent. Moreover, there is the recognition of the mutual responsibility to protect, develop and enhance Catholic schooling,” the CSA said.

The committee said that the current collective agreement between the MUT and the Church Authorities in Malta shies away from this issue and is “very weak” on the safeguarding of the Catholic identity of our diverse schools.

“As Heads of Schools, we are very aware of our responsibility of passing on the individual school’s Catholic heritage and of leading Church Schools professionally within the Maltese educational system. Parents choose to entrust their children to our care, and we must safeguard this right, which is based on Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as our country’s Constitution. Parents rightly expect much of the people leading the schools they have chosen.”

The CSA called on Heads of Schools to reflect on the document, and refrain from “excessive responses”.