MARY OLIVE SCOTT,
Sir, - I applaud and respect the dedicated work that Una O'Higgins O'Malley has done over the years in the area of peace and reconciliation, but I have to take issue with her attitude to Catholic schools (Features, January 25th).
Parents who want "integrated" education for their children have of course a perfect right to such provision where numbers justify it. But the right of Catholic (and Protestant!) parents to an educational provision which reflects their religious ethos is equally sacrosanct.
Where deeply felt ideological differences exist between people, they cannot be resolved by "quick fixes". Conflict situations exist worldwide where shared schooling has proved no deterrent. We experienced a savage civil war in Ireland which involved men and women who not only sat side by side in school, but not infrequently came from the same home.
The contribution of the Catholic educational sector to education generally in the North has been considerable, and was recognised in the many tributes paid to the pioneering work of the late Sister Genevieve which came from all quarters.
The answer to conflict is, and always has been, the satisfactory substitution of stable representative politics for warfare. - Yours, etc.,
MARY OLIVE SCOTT,
Heatherview,
Greystones,
Co Wicklow.