By Stoyan
Zaimov , Christian Post Reporter March 4,
2013
Nick Clegg,
the deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom and the leader of the Liberal
Democratic Party, who has spoken out about his lack of belief in God, said he
will send his 11-year-old son to a Catholic school.
"In
response to media inquiries, Nick and Miriam can confirm that they have decided
to send their oldest son, Antonio, from September onwards to the London Oratory
School, a state Catholic secondary school," said a spokesman for the
deputy prime minister, according to The Telegraph.
"He is
currently a pupil at a state Catholic primary school, Our Lady of the Victories
in Putney, where he has been going for the last six years. Now that their
decision has been made public, they hope that the privacy of their son will be
respected."
Clegg, who
assumed office in 2010, has said that he does not believe in God, but he is
married to a Catholic woman and said that he holds no ill will toward religion.
"My
wife is Catholic, I married in the Catholic Church and my children have been
brought up by Catholics and go to a Catholic state primary school," he
said in 2011.
"It
therefore shouldn't be entirely surprising that maybe, maybe just maybe, my
wife might consider, we might consider as parents sending our children on to a
state-funded Catholic secondary school."
The London
Evening Standard reported that back in 2007, the British politician, who
attended the private Westminster School growing up, said during a radio
interview: "I am not myself an active believer, but the last thing I would
do when talking or thinking about religion is approach it with a closed heart
or a closed mind."
The
Telegraph noted that "a close source" to Clegg tried to downplay any
significance in the family choosing a Catholic school for their son, saying
that the London Oratory School is simply the best choice in the area.
"Nick
and Miriam chose the Oratory for a very simple reason – they think it is the
best school for Antonio. He goes to a Catholic primary school in South West
London. It is not unusual for pupils from that school to go on to the
Oratory," the source said.
The
150-year-old school says that it conducts itself "in accordance with the
Canon Law and teachings of the Catholic Church," and that it serves
"as a witness to the Catholic faith."
About their
ethos and expectations, the London Oratory states: "The school aims to
assist Catholic parents in fulfilling their obligation to educate their
children in accordance with the principles and teachings of the Church; to do
this within an environment which will encourage and support the spiritual,
physical, moral and intellectual development of the child and help him to grow
towards full Christian maturity."
Read more
at http://global.christianpost.com/news/atheist-politician-nick-clegg-sending-son-to-catholic-school-91196/#7PrDXc81t0MYRGrR.99