PARIS (OSV News) — The archbishop of Paris spoke out in favor of freedom of Catholic education in France amid weeks of tensions and protests after the principal of a Catholic school was fired by the state school-supervising body for “breaching secularism.” The principal of a high school in southern France introduced confessions during school hours and invited a bishop to speak to students which was seen as an offense to school diversity Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris said on Oct 12 that “we must be able to proclaim the Gospel in Catholic schools,” adding “There are people who want to silence us.” Catholic schools educate around 17% of pupils in France They operate under a 1959 agreement with the French state according to which they follow the same curriculum as public schools and welcome children of all faiths and backgrounds the state pays the salaries of the Catholic schools’ teachers who are inspected by the Ministry of Education The schools however retain their Catholic identity and can offer catechism classes a relatively peaceful status quo prevailed in this respect state control over Catholic schools has tightened a large group of representatives from the public education sector urged the government in the national daily newspaper Le Monde to end state funding of Catholic schools The subject became even more tense at the start of the new school year the principal of a Catholic high school in Pau was removed from office by the local education authority Christian Espeso was accused of “breaching secularism,” including offering confessions during school hours withdrawing books from school circulation that he had deemed “inappropriate” for the children and bringing in the local bishop for a conference which pupils in the upper classes were required to attend ranked first in the region and fourth in France the Directorate of Catholic Education of the Diocese of Bayonne said that the “decision which we consider to be totally disproportionate in light of the facts for which he is accused The issue quickly took on a political dimension a former inspector general of the French Ministry of Education issued a statement protesting the “decision of the academic management of the National Education services” as a “full scale attack on Catholic education as a whole,” by an academic authority that “has given in to the injunctions of the most ideological unions which are driven by a militant and distorted vision of what secularism is in our country.” the secretary general for Catholic education a deacon elected to the post by the French bishops deploring “attacks and inconsistencies” against Catholic schools “Some people devote a lot of energy to trying to deconstruct something that works well,” he said at a press conference “I consider state controls to be legitimate and indispensable,” Delorme added “But we are being controlled with a suspicion of illegality Delorme pointed out that “the further we go the less we have the impression of being free and considered associated partners.” appropriate and proportionate controls,” the secretary general told journalists “The Catholic school assumes that its educational project is not neutral that parents choose when they enroll their children whether they are Christians or not.” “The situation is unprecedented in France in religious terms,” Philippe Gaudin longtime director of the Public Institute for the Study of Religions and Secularism there is a huge decline in Christian religious practice who are loudly asserting their identity and their demands So the state is trying to put in place a public policy to manage all this,” the expert pointed out an “anti-separatism” law was passed in France to step up the fight against radical Islamism It increased the possibilities for state control over religious institutions — to prevent extremism “Because there are concerns with Islam including Catholic schools,” Gaudin explained the great attractiveness of Catholic schools arouses jealousy If the Catholic Church had the freedom to open more schools It is extremely painful for the secular schools,” he said when the church regained a place in a French society after the Revolution it created schools in places that were suffering from the lack of education,” Archbishop Ulrich said Oct “Parish priests were concerned not only to teach children the catechism but also to ensure that they received a (general) education This was before schools were declared by the republic to be secular “It is not the state or the law that defines the ‘proper character’ of Catholic schools,” Archbishop Ulrich pointed out “It is up to us to define it,” he said “We are not saying that everyone must welcome the Gospel message and become a believer but pupils must be able to hear an evangelical word to set up small groups of Christian pupils who really want to cultivate their Christian faith but nevertheless at times when the children are still at school,” the archbishop said because there are pressures against it,” Archbishop Ulrich concluded “But this is what needs to be done.” Caroline de Sury writes for OSV News from Paris Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Une cuisine pour celles et ceux qui n’en ont pas C’est le concept de la Cuisine du 101 un tiers-lieu solidaire qui permet aux personnes sans-abri en squat ou hébergées à l’hôtel ou en foyer de venir cuisiner gratuitement avec leurs propres ingrédients en réservant un créneau à l’avance L’espace de 70 m2, au cœur du complexe des Docks Libres, est mis à disposition de Soliha Provence et de l’association Le Bouillon de Noailles qui œuvre pour créer du lien social autour de l’alimentation Le lieu est entièrement aménagé pour offrir un cadre convivial à ses usagers avec plusieurs espaces de vie communicants Le rez-de-chaussée est pourvu d’une cuisine entièrement équipée d’une salle de restauration et d’un coin petite enfance À l’étage se trouve un espace de détente équipé d’un canapé d’un ordinateur et d’une bibliothèque « C’est comme à la maison » qui loge dans un foyer d’accueil depuis son arrivée à Marseille il y a six mois On peut y prendre le petit-déjeuner le matin de 6h à 7h30 et je reste parfois jusqu’au soir » La Cuisine du 101 est aussi un lieu d’accueil d’écoute et d’orientation sociale tout autant qu’un espace d’échange et de création encadré par une équipe de huit salariés Sept membres du Bouillon de Noailles assurent l’animation culinaire art-thérapeute employée par Soliha Provence propose des ateliers artistiques chaque après-midi Ces temps d’activités sont accessibles aux associations et aux écoles locales afin de diversifier les publics accueillis et de faire de la Cuisine du 101 un lieu « ouvert sur le quartier en échange permanent avec la ville » Chaque bénéficiaire peut également proposer un atelier autour d’une de ses spécialités culinaires « L’idée du tiers-lieu est qu’il ne faut pas que ce soit mono-activité directrice du pôle Développement et Innovation sociale de Soliha Nous voulions l’ouvrir à une action culturelle qui intéresse à la fois les personnes qui fréquentent le lieu mais aussi les habitants de la copropriété et les instances qui gravitent dans le quartier » La Cuisine du 101 répond à un réel besoin de la part d’un public en difficulté Depuis son inauguration en novembre dernier les créneaux se remplissent « de plus en plus vite avec le bouche à oreille entre les personnes hébergées à l’hôtel » Le lieu accueille en moyenne une vingtaine d’usagers par jour des « chefs reconnus » pourraient être invités à animer des ateliers culinaires l’après-midi Les équipes de la Cuisine prévoient aussi d’installer des jardinières à plantes aromatiques et des bacs de tri à l’extérieur du bâtiment