This is a very important annual occasion in the life of St. Mary's for it expresses in a very tangible way the raison d'être of the College with a tradition stretching back over one hundred years, a tradition of teacher education, the training and formation of future teachers for the Catholic school sector.
There have been, of course, major changes in the past one hundred years, most recently the diversification of St. Mary's, with the introduction of the Liberal Arts degree which has opened up university education to a cohort of young people and has brought a new dimension and a richness to the life of the College while preserving its primary purpose, namely the education of our future teachers.
As Bishop I look forward each year to this celebration, to presenting the RE Certificates to you, our graduands, and to congratulate you and to congratulate your parents who are rightly proud of you tonight and you are proud of them and grateful to them for all that they have given to you. And I congratulate the College, all the members of staff, who keep up the high academic standing and the traditions of this College.
My dear students, you are entering a noble profession, the teaching profession but teaching is more than a profession it is a vocation and no matter how highly qualified professionally you may be you will not be a good teacher or a happy teacher without that sense of vocation. And for the Catholic teacher, teaching is a vocation in the Church, a vocation, a calling, to be a witness to the faith, a witness for Christ, for the young people who will be entrusted by their parents to your care, to your professional and to your pastoral care. The qualification which you receive tonight must not simply be a paper qualification, it should represent your commitment to be, in every aspect of your life, worthy of your vocation in the Church.
You are entering this noble profession at a time of great uncertainty in every area of education. So much is happening or, perhaps one should say, so much is not happening. We have had a succession, indeed a procession, of Ministers with responsibility for Education as well as for other departments. We have Government policy with its Review of Public Administration and its commitment to "a shared future" in every area including in particular education at all levels. We have a three year Action Plan to deliver this shared future and a Good Relations Panel to oversee the implementation of the Action Plan. And now we have legislation laid before Parliament this week but legislation itself clouded with uncertainty and with very worrying political overtones.
There is much to commend, indeed to praise, in the aspirations of the "Shared Future" document and in the practical plan for the implementation of those aspirations in the three year strategic plan. But there is an underlying philosophy, in particular in the area of education, which gives cause for grave concern. In ministerial statements, including statements from the Secretary of State, there is constant reference to education being segregated. There are overtones in that word "segregation" which we in the Catholic sector find offensive.
Successive Ministers have given assurances that there is no intention in government policy to dilute the particular ethos of any school sector. It is reassuring to have that commitment but one might legitimately ask: How does that assurance sit with the statement in the "Shared Future" document: "Separate but equal is not an option. Parallel living and the provision of parallel services are unsustainable both morally and economically".
In statements on a shared future there are references to political identity, to cultural identity – one has to search very hard to find a reference to religious identity. And it is precisely on the basis of religious identity that we have the Catholic School sector. Parents have the right to choose a school which will assist them in handing on the faith to their child and this is a right which must continue to be respected and facilitated by Government.
And St. Mary's University College is integral to the Catholic sector. It is not a stand-alone unit, it is integral and essential for the sector and the current Teacher Education Review must recognise that.
That does not mean, of course, that a Catholic school or this University College is closed in on itself. We are committed to a shared future, to working with our educational partners for the common good, to sharing with others from the richness of our tradition and to be enriched from the traditions of others. Diversity gives a richness to all partners, a homogenous system is not the way forward.
This College is committed to that sharing and has shown its willingness to do so in so many ways. This College is a partner with the other providers of teacher education. It will work in partnership with full respect for the ethos of the other partners who in turn will respect the ethos, the specific religious identity of St. Mary's.
And our commitment to work for this shared future is an imperative arising from our commitment to the Gospel. All major Church documents emphasise this commitment. In 2001 the Northern Bishops published a document "Building Peace, Shaping the Future": in which we committed our schools to promote reconciliation and to promote the common good. I quote: ". . . while retaining their commitment to a distinctive Catholic ethos, Catholic schools embody a spirit of outreach and reconciliation".
At this time of uncertainty what the Northern Bishops said in their document "Proclaiming the Mission - the distinctive philosophy and values of Catholic education" is well worth reflecting on. I quote: "The need for genuine value-based education has perhaps never been greater. Perhaps some in education have allowed others to dictate the educational agenda where the needs of industry and the ever-growing consumer culture seek to assert priority over the needs of our young people. It is timely, therefore, for those associated with Catholic education to take a clear and courageous stand, certain in the validity and usefulness of our Catholic vision of education for our young people and society as a whole".
Dear students and parents, we must take a clear and courageous stand. We should hold our heads high in the world of education. I would say to you: Be proud of our schools, be proud of the enormous sacrifices made by the generations before us, sacrifices made because of commitment to the faith, commitment to the passing on of that faith. We have so much to offer for the common good from the strong religious identity of the Catholic school sector to supporting the laudable aim of working for a shared future, a future where there is equity, respect for diversity and recognition of our inter-dependence.