Priest's comments on sex abuse

Madam, - Fr Patrick McCafferty (November 19th) may be correct to say that "all normal, well-adjusted, adult human beings, male…

Madam, - Fr Patrick McCafferty (November 19th) may be correct to say that "all normal, well-adjusted, adult human beings, male and female, know exactly what constitutes appropriate physical contact with a minor". But Fr Tony Flannery's point ( The Irish Times, November 17th) nonetheless retains a painful validity .

We are living at a time when any physical contact between adults and minors, however natural, may invite suspicion. Even the "pat on the head" that Fr Flannery mentioned might well be regarded as suspicious by the hypersensitive vigilantes who are calling the shots in this area.

It might well be that a child might benefit from being hugged or reassured by an adult, something that would be perfectly appropriate, but that has become inconceivable in the present climate, particularly if the adult is a priest.

There is even the rather appalling possibility that children are taught to suspect that any adult who touches them may be a sexual predator.

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I suspect that many priests simply avoid having anything to do with minors because of the paranoia in the air. - Yours, etc,

Rev JOSEPH S. O'LEARY,

Sophia University,

Tokyo,

Japan.