AUSTRALIA: CHURCH DISAPPROVES ETHICS CLASSES

CATH NEWS REPORT: The Church has expressed disappointment over recommendations for NSW primary schools to implement ethics classes as an alternative to religious classes.
The recommendation, contained in the 102-page independent report by Dr Sue Knight and three colleagues at the University of South Australia, says the State Government could adopt the ethics classes model used in the recent 10-week trial if it decides to establish the classes, said The Catholic Weekly.
Jude Hennessy, director of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine in the Wollongong diocese, said he was "very disappointed" by the findings of Dr Knight's report.
"The terms of reference review were so narrow that it was quite obvious that the Government already had an outcome in mind," he said.
"My concerns about this were heightened even more when right in the middle of Dr Knight's review period, Education Minister Firth again invited the media to a Sydney primary school to heap praise on the ethics classes.
"It sent all the wrong signals to providers of SRE who were given assurances that this would be a valid, thorough review process." http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=23971

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