Irish columnist snaps back at anti-Church hysteria

July 19, 2011

Since the publication of the Cloyne report, politicians and pundits in Ireland have lashed out against the Catholic Church, calling for tough new laws. Columnist Kevin Myers of the Irish Independent has had enough:

Let's be clear. There has never been a safer time or place for children than modern Ireland. A Catholic priest is as likely to sexually abuse a child today as he is to organise bullfights in a confessional. Introducing major legislation to prevent fresh child abuse is like revisiting the Repeal of the Corn Laws.

Addressing the threat of a new law that would require priests to report child abuse even when they learned about it in the confessional, Myers puts his finger on the emerging bias against the Church:

But will those who argue that the confidentiality of the confessional is not sacrosanct extend this same logic to include journalists, lawyers, doctors and psychiatrists?

 

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Further information:

• Kevin Myers: There's never been a safer time for children (Irish Independent)