You may not be defending the culprits Joe, but you have always played down the role of the church in covering it up and the responsibility they bear for allowing it to happen in the first place
You accuse those of us of hating your church and have, on occasion, suggested we are attacking your religion - neither is the case.
My point has always been that once the church and State politics become entwined, as it has become here, invariably the people are the losers.
Examples such as the murder of Romero and the persecution of decent clergymen are indications that even churchmen are not safe once this happens.
The Church has lost any claim to the right of being entrusted to the welfare of children - had any other body behaved similarly it would have been dismantled and those involved punished yet battles like proof of baptismal demands in order to be educated, Church ownership and control of schools. pregnancy termination, dual sex marriage.... are still being fought here.
In the end, this has led to mass disillusionment among the faithful and a major crisis in the church
As an atheist, I would be happy to see the role of the church cut to the bare minimum tomorrow - but not like this
I have far too many Catholic friends and relatives who would be deeply hurt if your church should crash like this
JIm Carroll