OCEANIA/AUSTRALIA - Bishops' petition to defend religious education in public schools

Sydney (Agenzia Fides) - The bishops of Australia have invited all dioceses of New South Wales to consider contributing to the petition which opposes the teaching of ethics classes in time set aside for Special Religious Education (SRE). Bishop Peter Ingham of Wollongong is among those leading the fight. The petition has already been signed in a matter of hours by thousands of Catholics and people of other faiths, “to give the Government a very strong indication of how much we value SRE not only in the formation of faith, but in the formation of really solid citizens,” say the Bishops.
In Australia, various forces are trying to substitute SRE by inserting a generic subject called “Ethics” into the academic curriculum. Among these groups is St. James Ethics Centre.
In a recent address, a copy of which was sent to Fides, Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney, described the push for “Ethics” as hostile to religion. Despite figures that show at least 60 per cent of Australians identify themselves as being Christian, he said, “public discourse often proceeds as though nearly everybody was irreligious. “So you have a few people who suggest that re­ligious considerations are inappropriate in public life,” the Cardinal said.
As some scholars point out, there should be a definition of the term and concept of “ethics,” which will certainly lead to some controversy.
The SRE in many schools is led by personnel that are trained and chosen by the diocese, who are deeply appreciated by the Church for the great work they carry out. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 22/5/2010)