IN THE course of the children’s rights referendum campaign — on October 31st, 2012, to be exact — I took part in a debate with John Waters and Kathy Sinnott.

A top ranking Cardinal in Australia has said fear of scandal prompted the cover-up of child sex abuse allegations within the Catholic Church.

Pope Francis has urged Vatican disciplinarians to act “with determination” against sexual abuse committed by members of the Catholic clergy, in his first public pronouncement on the issue.

A priest fears he will be defrocked after his explosive memoirs, containing intimate details of a 14-year marriage to another gay man, are published next month.

Hiding behind a culture of “omerta” — the Italian word for the Mafia’s code of silence — would be deadly for the Catholic Church, the Vatican’s top official for dealing with sexual abuse of minors by clergy has said.

AS the father of a family and as a normal human being I am as appalled as anybody else at the abuse of minors by those in positions of authority, which includes (but is by no means most prevalent among) members of the Catholic clergy.

Catholic clergy will gather in Co Laois today to discuss plans to set up an association of Irish priests.

THE Belgian Roman Catholic Church yesterday acknowledged widespread sexual abuse over years by its clergy and pleaded for time to set up a system to punish all abusers and provide closure for victims.

The former Belgian bishop who resigned in April after admitting he sexually abused a nephew for years said he would go into hiding to assess his future, despite calls for him to leave the church immediately.

IN stating that “not reporting child abuse to the gardaí because of some canon law”, Jacqueline Cotter (Letters, March 17) shows her ignorance of the church code.

The Catholic Church today said its child abuse scandals were only part of a wider problem.

SINGER Sinead O’Connor took to the airwaves yesterday to voice her disgust at Bishop of Ferns Denis Brennan’s suggestion that parishioners could contribute towards abuse settlements and legal fees.

The Pope today hailed the peace-building work of Ireland’s former Roman Catholic Primate, Cardinal Cahal Daly, as his body lay in state in Belfast.

Hundreds of mourners paid respects Cardinal Cahal Daly today as his remains were laid in state in a Belfast cathedral closely associated with his ministry.

THE issue of clerical abuse in the Irish Catholic Church has unearthed depths of depravity and corruption that those of us who soldier in the ranks of the lay faithful can scarcely fathom.

FIRST we tugged the forelock for the landlord’s agent, then for the Catholic clergy, and now we have no kiss curls left.

“The journey over the last two years has been truly remarkable. There are champions for children in the Church who deserve the highest praise. They are at all levels ... There is a sense of purpose and commitment which is increasingly evident ... We are in a very different place to where we where two years ago.” - Ian Elliott, CEO, NSCC

AMID all the scandals involving the Catholic Church we should not lose sight of the positive and respected side of the institution.

THE Vatican should break its silence and come clean on what it knew about systemic clerical child abuse in Ireland, Labour foreign affairs spokesman Micheal D Higgins has demanded.

DESPITE the grossly unjust generalisations being made by some in response to the Ryan report, it is crazy to speak of the Catholic church as a corporate entity being responsible for these outrages.

The deadline in the inquiry into allegations of child sex abuse in the Dublin archdiocese has been extended until January 31.

Pope Benedict XVI apologised today to victims of child sex abuse by Catholic clergy in Australia, describing their acts as evil and a grave betrayal of trust that has disgraced the church.

Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Australia on a pilgrimage he says he wants to use to raise awareness about global warming and address the crisis of clergy sexual abuse.

THERE is a terrible irony and sadness in the fact that on the very day that one of the traditional authority figures in our society — a cardinal of the Catholic Church — finally accepts that a person, an office, entrusted with such authority, can no longer seek refuge in secrecy, obfuscation or legal point scoring, that our Taoiseach turns to the High Court to stymie the Mahon Tribunal’s investigations into his finances.

ONE of the ironies of the career of John Charles McQuaid, Archbishop of Dublin from 1940 until 1972, and the towering figure of 20th century Irish Catholicism, was that for someone who had such presence and domination, he was a poor communicator.

IRISH bishops will meet the Government in the next fortnight to debate the proposed children’s rights referendum.

A group of Christians determined to address what they claim are the myths of The Da Vinci Code are to offer the Irish public a mental health warning on the film before it hits cinema screens.

MOST Irish clergy have been ignoring one of the most important social, political and moral issues facing the Irish people in recent years.

I REFER to Deputy Liz O’Donnell’s bizarre attack on the Catholic Church (Irish Examiner, November 10).

I REFER to the letter headlined ‘Why journalists sometimes treat priests unfairly: an incomplete thesis” by Joseph Barry (Irish Examiner, November 1).

RORY CONNOR, in his letter headlined ‘Trial by Media’ (Irish Examiner, October 18), tells us how the Los Angeles Times seems to want to blacken the reputation of Catholic clergy, using issues such as rape and child abuse.

The testing period for the IRA to prove its statement is for real will be extended if there is a lack of transparency around the disarmament process, republicans were told today.

SOME months back I was on Vincent Browne’s radio programme discussing a new report, A Time to Listen - Confronting Child Sexual Abuse by Catholic Clergy, commissioned by Irish bishops.

THE recent establishment of an organisation called LOVE (Let Our Voices Emerge) has disgusted me because of the horrific beatings I received from two priests with foot canes from 1962 to 1964.

THE Catholic Church has been accused of telling people in countries with high rates of HIV that condoms do not protect against the deadly virus.

I REFER to Irish Examiner deputy editor Brian Carroll’s article (Jan 22) defending the Allen family, and especially the quote from it used on the front page in which he wondered if people wanted Tim Allen hanged in the town square to gratify their insatiable appetite for justice.

The victim support group 'One in Four' has welcomed the move by the Justice minister to examine the possibility of criminal prosecutions against child abusers in the Catholic clergy.