Pope Francis will visit Ireland later this year, but will find a different country to that which welcomed his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, almost four decades ago.

The bishops were quick out of the blocks last week to smite the proposed referendum on same-sex marriage.

MORE than words could ever tell, the raw statistics of horrific child abuse by priests in six Catholic dioceses underscore the past record of cover-up within the church whose culture of denial, silence and hypocrisy in the face of damning allegations has seriously undermined its authority in the eyes of the Irish people.

JUST seven of the 26 Catholic bishops have responded to a question on whether or not their diocese ever operated a secret oath policy.