The Bishop of Meath, Dr Michael Smith, has said Catholic families who participate in their local parish should get priority over children of non-practising Catholics when it comes to awarding places in Catholic schools.
Dr Smith, who is patron of several schools in Meath, questioned whether families with "no stake in the church" should be offered places in schools owned by the church.
Speaking on a local radio station, LM-FM, Dr Smith said: "The issue is, if people have no stake, or wish to have no stake, in the church, should the parish be asked to provide a place in school for them?"
He said if there were more applicants than places available at a national school, priority should be given to practising and contributing Catholic families. If there were any places remaining then other children could be considered.
"The issue then arises, if there are no places left in the school, and a new school needs to be built, should the parish build it? Priority has always been given to practising and contributing Catholic families," he added.
He said one of the dangers of non-practising Catholics entering the school was that their parents might want to change the whole ethos.
"That is a different issue, and I certainly don't accept that they have the right to come and say 'We don't want religion for our children or in the school'," he said.
"People are entitled to walk away from the church, but there are people who have abandoned their faith. I won't call that non-practising.
"There are quite a number of people for whom faith is totally irrelevant to their lives and the parish is totally irrelevant to their lives. I wouldn't even describe them as a-la-carte Catholics." The bishop's comments echo sentiments recently expressed by the parish priest in Stamullen, Co Meath, Father Michael Daly. He also said practising Catholics should get priority over other groups.
In a letter to the Meath Chronicle this week, Ms Lucy Keaveney of Educate Together, which represents the multidenominational sector, says the taxpayer makes a considerable contribution to the costs of Catholic-run schools, and consequently no child should be excluded from those schools.