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EWTN News, Dec 16, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

A new report published by the General Secretariat for Catholic Education (SGEC) in France has sent shockwaves through the country’s educational landscape, reopening the debate over the methods used in state oversight, possible ideological abuses, and their impact on educational freedom.  

Published on Dec. 8, the 14-page document widely cited in the French press compiles testimonies from teachers, principals, and staff in Catholic schools under state contract who report having been subjected to what Catholic education leaders describe as “abusive,” “intrusive” inspections carried out by officials from the Ministry of National Education. The report highlights that it does not challenge the principle of state oversight itself but denounces the methods employed — methods that, according to Catholic leaders, risk undermining both the dignity of educators and the very identity of Catholic schools. 

The controversy erupted just a few months after the publication of a parliamentary report calling for increased oversight of Catholic institutions in the name of child protection. Catholic school officials are now issuing a strong warning against the climate of suspicion and political exploitation that they have seen develop in recent months.

In July, revelations of physical and sexual abuse at Notre Dame de Bétharram, a Catholic boarding school in southwestern France, triggered a nationwide debate on how abuse in schools is identified, reported, and addressed, alongside similar cases at other institutions. A parliamentary inquiry subsequently examined these cases, highlighting serious institutional failures while also prompting questions about how oversight is carried out at faith-based schools operating under state contract.

According to the testimonies gathered, inspections have at times taken the form of what the report calls “disproportionate shows of force.” Inspectors reportedly arrived unannounced in groups of 10 to 16, dispersing throughout school buildings without accompaniment, interrupting classes, photographing classrooms, questioning students, and even searching pupils’ backpacks. Some teachers describe inspectors entering classrooms without identifying themselves, leafing through students’ notebooks mid-lesson, and interrogating staff in front of children.

Catholic educators say the nature of some of the questions asked has been particularly troubling. Teachers reported being questioned about their personal religious practices, including whether they attend Sunday Mass. Inspectors allegedly examined and took pictures of students’ personal spiritual journals — documents explicitly intended to remain private. Principals recount being pressured to remove Christian references from school projects or to take down religious symbols, demands that directly contradict the legal recognition of Catholic schools’ distinctive character under French law. 

A chilling effect on educators 

Beyond individual incidents, the report paints a picture of a widespread sense of demoralization. Educators describe a climate of fear and anxiety, with trust in institutional partners badly eroded. Some inspectors reportedly dismissed positive academic results by suggesting students were already strong before enrollment. Others sent critical notices to local elected officials containing contested or potentially defamatory claims, leaving school leaders feeling publicly discredited before any dialogue could take place.

Guillaume Prévost, who became secretary-general of Catholic education in September, expressed his dismay in an interview with weekly magazine Famille Chrétienne.

“We could not continue letting our teachers be humiliated,” he said to explain why Catholic education leadership decided to make the report public.

Prévost also insisted that Catholic education does not categorically oppose inspections. In his introduction to the report, he recalled that “there can be no freedom without control” and described inspections as an essential component of the system. According to him, many inspections ultimately lead to constructive exchanges, with inspectors highlighting strengths such as schools’ relationships with families, their support for students with disabilities, and the overall coherence of their educational projects. He nonetheless emphasized that inspections must be conducted within a clear legal framework and with due professionalism, restraint, and discernment. 

The deeper danger, in his view, lies not only in individual abuses but also in a systemic drift. If inspections become a tool to neutralize Catholic identity, impose administrative guardianship, or align Catholic schools entirely with the public model, he warned, France risks destroying one of its greatest educational strengths in the name of uniformity.

Such tensions are not new and reflect a long history of strained relations between the French state and Catholic institutions. The 1959 Debré Law was intended to find a balance and improve church–state relations by allowing private schools to operate under state contract while preserving their distinctive identity. Recent debates around inspections have revived questions about how that balance should be interpreted in practice. 

In recent years, French President Emmanuel Macron’s government has sought to tighten oversight in several areas of education, including proposals to restrict home schooling and increase scrutiny of certain Catholic schools, including high-profile cases such as Paris’ Stanislas School, although inspections did not establish systemic violations there. 

The government’s response 

In a statement following the publication of the SGEC report, the Ministry of National Education has sought to lower tensions, reaffirming that inspections are governed by a strict legal framework and explicitly acknowledging that questions aimed at identifying a student’s religious affiliation are prohibited. “Firm instructions,” the ministry said, would be sent to all rectors to clarify both the substance and the conduct of inspections. “If there have been failings, all consequences will be drawn.” 

Minister of Education Édouard Geffray has emphasized that oversight remains necessary in light of past abuses, noting that more than 850 inspections have already been conducted this year, with 1,000 expected by year’s end.  

Catholic education in France currently serves more than 2 million students from a wide range of social backgrounds. Its representatives emphasize that the manner in which inspections are carried out has concrete implications not only for schools themselves but also for the families who place their trust in them.