25 NOVEMBER 1949, Page 16

Catholics and the Schools

cannot let your remarks under the above heading pass without comment. The 1944 Education Act safeguarded a parent's right to deter- mine the type of education received by his children. The Catholic proposals merely seek to exercise this right. As a ratepayer a Catholic parent contributes as much as a non-Catholic to the education expenses of the locality. Why, then, should the L.E.A.s not provide Catholic schools, where the Catholic population warrants? Why should Catholics have to bear the unjust burden of finding some £60,000,000 for their children's education over the next fifteen years ?

As for getting preferential treatment, the onus is surely on the other denominations to put forward similar proposals. The fact that they have similar problems of their own to solve can be no excuse for delaying the settlement of the Catholic question, by far the biggest and most urgent, with this most satisfactory solution.—Yours faithfully,