Sir, – With the publication of the final part of the Cloyne report, and the recent revelations of widescale abuse of the young and vulnerable I suppose it was inevitable that further pleas on behalf of the “hounded and battered” priesthood should appear (December 23rd).
Whatever perceived hardships or contempt may be inflicted on the members of this discredited organisation for its facilitation, collusion, and cover-up of unspeakable crimes perpetrated by the powerful on the powerless, this will be as nothing when compared to decades of torture and abuse in the industrial schools and the Magdalene laundries, orphanages and parishes throughout the land.
For those who deem to act as apologists or spokespersons for the church, I suggest a decent reticence would be more in keeping, and some awareness of the enormity of the damage done to the victims. – Yours, etc,