..to be surprised at this woman's opinions on First Communion and Catholic Schools..

[fourfingerkitkat]

Was chatting to another mum at our toddler group this morning about my DS and her DD who are due to start school in August. I have enrolled DS in a nearby Catholic school (dh and I are both very lapsed Catholics !) as I believe it's one of the better ones in the area and I'm hoping he'll be able to attend the Catholic secondary that I went to which is a good school. Woman I was chatting to has had a few arguments with her partner who is protestant and feels very strongly against his daughter attending a Catholic school and being "brainwashed". I told her he's entitled to his opinion but my DS and DD haven't been baptised Catholic therefore they won't be making their First Communion or Confirmation and so won't be getting "brainwashed". She seemed really shocked that I was going to deny my DD a First Communion and the chance of getting dressed up in big fat gypsy wedding style dress...I was open mouthed at that point...

[apostropheuse]

ooop x posted too! sorry!

[chubbleigh]

Catholic schools are middle class??? What a laugh, not around these parts, the opposite in fact.

I nearly killed myself with the work of organising a huge communion breakfast. It was full on, loads of families did it together. It was like a really big wedding reception, we didn't spend a lot, we did it all ourselves. I wanted DC to have a day to remember with all his family there especially for him and his friends the same. What's wrong with making a bit of a fuss, it only happens the once.

[Amerryscot]

My DD is at a catholic school.

We are Anglicans (evangelical). She has been brought up to question why we do things, such as a lot of church gestures.

I was very proud of her when she did not bow to the "altar" formica table covered with some kind of taffeta, and was the only one. The readers had obviously been told to bow before going up, but DD refused to worship a created thing.

Children in catholic schools do not have to fall into any peripheral aspect of the school. They are there in their own right. It is appropriate to be 'sympathetic' to the ethos of the school, but that doesn't mean immersing completely. Saying that, most young children are happy to fit in by making the sign of the cross and saying formulaic prayers. They don't have to if they don't want to, however.

[KenDoddsDadsDog]

Why is she at a Catholic school if you are so sneery about it's religious practises? Oh yes, a good education most likely.

[assumpta]

Our local catholic primary is great. Good caring, community. They only accept practicing Catholics first within area, then practising catholic siblings, then Catholics based area range, then everyone else. I really like the fact that you don't automatically get children in if you are not practicing, just because you have one child in the school does not mean you get the rest in unless you continue to go to mass and get involved with the community. Our church is usually very busy.

[neverputasockinatoaster]

My 2 DCs attend a Catholic school. Both DH and I are Catholic- practising. < awaits flaming >

DS is 8 and in year 3. FHC preparation does not take place within his school - classes are held in the Church before Sunday mass. This has caused us no end of grief as we live in a different parish where preparation DOES take place in the school - so DS has to attend our church class for the kids who go to non Catholic schools.......
Although there are no classes in school FHC is talked about and celebrated within the school. Incidently the DC's school has a huge proportion of children from different cultures and is not the sort of catholic school some parents might fight to get into...!

I went to a Catholic primary school and we did our FHC prep at our own churches but that was away back in the dark ages and was in Edinburgh. That may have been because it was an independent school with an intake from many, many parishes.

Can I just say that my experience of a Catholic education was a positive one. It wasn't until I was sent to a non denominational school that my nightmares began......

So no one size fits all really.

[cantspel]

Amerryscott the bow to the alter is to show reverence and is not an act of worship so by bowing she is only showing repect for what it represents and not worshiping the formica.

[Trinpy]

Some people on this thread seem to be describing a very out-dated style of Catholic school. I hope schools like this don't still exist in the UK!

I only went to a Catholic primary school as there wasn't a Catholic secondary locally, but my experiences were all positive (was there in the 90s). Everyone had to be baptised in order to go there but first holy communion/first reconciliation were optional. Classes were held after school so those who didn't attend didn't feel as left-out. We prayed 4-5 times a day but imo fairly harmless (eg. thank you for my friends and family,for the birds and the flowers...). Bible classes were about once or twice a week and focussed on simple, child-friendly stories. Religion was kept seperate from other classes. We had a mix of social classes and a high proportion of sen kids.

In answer to the OP - I agree with ken, and am personally a bit about parents sending their children to faith school when they do not follow that faith and believe it 'brainwashes' children.

[sashh]

Er

Not making a first communion will not stop the brainwashing.

[KenDoddsDadsDog]

Don't send your kids then . But half of you are fucking desperate to. "Oooh will I get little Alfie in if I change his name to John the Baptist and wear a sack for a week?" And then "I'm outraged, little John the Baptist and Mary have had to say PRAYERS and respect Jesus, I mean the very thought"

[BegoniaBampot]

You don't have to be catholic to apply to the school. Why shouldn't people send their kids to the best nearest school they can whether it's catholic or whatever, or whether they themselves are catholic or Jedi. As long as they realise what the overal ethos of the school will probably be.

[CaseyShraeger]

Generally speaking Catholics bow/genuflect towards the altar because there is consecrated bread and/or wine in the tabernacle behind it (sometimes there isn't, or there isn't a tabernacle, but it's hard to be sure) and Catholics believe that Christ is really, truly, and substantially present in the sacrament. Not because they are worshipping formica .

[fourfingerkitkat]

BegoniaBampot have a big glass of wine from me (or whatever you drink) this is exactly what I was trying to say ...

[apostropheuse]

The sanctuary light is lit when the Eucharist is present in the tabernacle.
You bow before the tabernacle when walking past it, but if the host is in a monstrance during exposition you genuflect.

The altar is the place of the sacrifice - where transubstantiation takes place, i.e. the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ. Thus the altar is reverenced as a reminder of the act that takes place there, in a similar way that crucifixes are reverenced, because they remind us of Christ's sacrifice on the Cross. The Lectionary is also reverenced because we believe the contain the Word of God. (The book of readings)

Articles may be reverenced, but only God is worshipped.

[ICBINEG]

yuck. Faith in schools. Nasty.

[ComposHat]

The sanctuary light is lit when the Eucharist is present in the tabernacle.
You bow before the tabernacle when walking past it, but if the host is in a monstrance during exposition you genuflect.

That's numberwang

Sounds bloody barmy to me.

[ICBINEG]

NUMBERWANG

[ICBINEG]

See this is the one thing stopping me moving to scotland. They have it sooo much better in so many ways north of the boarder....but the whole school religion thing...well it's a deal breaker.

[Monty27]

A faith school is a faith school. You don't want it? (including brainwashing and by big gypsy FHC or whatever it was you said upthread).

Don't send them there then.

Suck it up.

[AmelieRose]

Icebineg you know we have non denominational schools in Scotland too?

[ComposHat]

There are plenty of non faith schools up here. Well certainly in the Edinburgh/East Lothians area! Are you sure you aren't getting confused with NI?

[BegoniaBampot]

Well don't let the facts get in the way of a chance to have a dig a schools in Scotland. Unless you mean the whole catholic/Protestant sectarian thing in the west of Scotland which is a disgrace even if it's nowhere as bad as it used to be.

[apostropheuse]

There are many more non-denominational schools than faith schools in Scotland. It's obviously proportionate to the demographic.

Faith schools aren't compulsory you know.

[AmIthatWintry]

Icbineg, what on earth are you on about? We have mostly non-denominational schools, catholic schools and even some protestant schools.

All are accessible to anyone that wants to attend. As I stated upthread, my DD spent 7 years at a RC primary, that I picked for lots of different reasons, and she thrived there.

Within 30 miles of me, there are two protestant state primaries (Episcopalian - which I believe is protestant, although I am prepared to be corrected).

I believe that a high number of their pupils are not Episcopalian either.

Not sure what the deal breaker bit is? But if that's stopping you, well, don't let us hold you back