‘Not a crime to be Catholic’:Perrottet defends faith as former school comes under fire

Premier Dominic Perrottet has defended parental choice in education as his former school faces allegations of preaching hardline religious views on sexuality,such as the value of chastity and the dangers of masturbation. He said:“It’s not a crime to be Catholic.”

Broadcast on Monday,aFour Corners episode explores what it describes as “disturbing practices” at a group of NSW schools affiliated with the ultra-conservative Catholic prelature Opus Dei.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrettet has defended parents’ choice to send their children to religious schools.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrettet has defended parents’ choice to send their children to religious schools.Anna Kucera

The schools have links to several senior MPs and staffers from the right wing of the Liberal Party.

Perrottet has passed the allegations from the program to the NSW Education Standards Authority,with the concerns mostly from former students,and ranging from opposition to consent education to discouraging the cervical cancer vaccine because girls should only have one sexual partner.

Under NSW law,non-government schools are allowed to educate children in accordance with the religious views of the organisations that run them. However,in order to be registered and funded,they must also teach the NSW curriculum and provide evidence that their lessons comply.

There is a wide range of faith-based schools in NSW,including some linked to controversial religions such as Scientology (The Athena School in Newtown) and the Exclusive Brethren (the One School Global Network).

Students from Redfield College march with a cross in Dural.

Students from Redfield College march with a cross in Dural.Robert Pearce

The ABC program,Purity;An education in Opus Dei,focuses on four schools run by the Parents for Education Foundation or PARED,whose founders – some of whom were Opus Dei members – believed parents should have greater responsibility over their children’s education,which is a key Catholic teaching.

Catholics believe that sex outside marriage is a mortal sin,although Pope Francis – one of the less conservative church leaders in recent decades – late last year said sins of the flesh were “not the most serious” kind,with pride and hatred being worse.

Responding to reporters’ questions at a press conference on Monday,Perrottet – who attended PARED’s Redfield College,where he was captain in 2000 – said Australia was a tolerant country that respected those who practiced religious faith.

“It’s not a crime to be Catholic,” the premier said. “I am a strong believer in parental choice when it comes to education.

Dominic Perrottet at Redfield College in 1994.

Dominic Perrottet at Redfield College in 1994.Supplied

“What I believe as a Liberal premier of this state is ... the separation of church and state.”

The head of Catholic Schools NSW,Dallas McInerney – a possible candidate for a Liberal Party Senate vacancy and a factional ally of Perrottet’s – said the NSW Education Act enshrined the right of parents to make choices about their children’s education.

“It also enshrines the right of schools to hold different educational or religious philosophies,” he said. “There is a wide range of religious and non-religious schools in NSW,ranging from Anglican to Islamic. Even Catholic schools can have different approaches to teaching the faith.

“When parents are making the important decision about their child’s schooling,they should learn about the school’s values to ensure they align with their own. In all cases,schools are accountable to NESA.”

Denis Fitzgerald,a former NESA board member and NSW Teachers Federation president,refused to comment on the schools mentioned byFour Corners but said the latitude given to religious schools had limits. “You are not able to teach things that are scientifically untrue,” he said.

The Athena School in Newtown has links to Scientology.

The Athena School in Newtown has links to Scientology.Ben Rushton

Last week,the PARED Foundation sent a letter to parents saying the episode “seems to be an attack on the Catholic faith” and an “attempt at damaging the political career” of Perrottet ahead of the March 25 state election. NSW Finance Minister Damien Tudehope also has links to the schools.

Four Corners quotes alumni saying they were taught that masturbation and homosexuality were disordered,and watching pornography caused holes in the brain.

PARED said its schools taught all elements of the curriculum,including consent and sex education,and said it stopped sending letters to parents about the HPV vaccination in 2020. It said it followed the Pope’s teachings that LGBTQI+ students should be welcomed and respected.

In a statement on Monday,it described theFour Corners allegations as serious and asked the ABC to provide specifics to the schools and to the police. “Any allegations should be fully investigated,” it said.

Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said on Monday that NESA had not received any formal complaints about the Pared Schools until last week. She also said the school ran the HPV cervical cancer vaccination program last year.

TheFour Cornersjournalist reporting on the schools,Louise Milligan,told the ABC that the story raised questions about the oversight of independent schools,and how authorities responded when freedom of religious expression strayed into misinformation.

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Jordan Baker is Chief Reporter of The Sydney Morning Herald. She was previously Education Editor.

Tom Rabe is the WA political correspondent,based in Perth.

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