Preparation of primary school children for Catholic sacraments of Communion and Confirmation are likely to have to become more parish based in the coming years.
That's the view of the Administrator of the Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnois Fr Tom Healy who was commenting today following the official announcement that Cornamaddy National School in Athlone will be divested of its Catholic ethos later this year.
The move is part of a nationwide initiative aimed at giving more choice to parents as to what kind of school they want to send their children to.
Hundreds of other primary schools across the country are due to also become multi-denominational in the next few years.
Fr Healy says he is confident that the local parish with the goodwill of the school community will be in a position to organise preparation for the sacraments that would have been carried out in the school previously.
He says this is something that parents are going to have to take a more active role in if they want it for their children
