State too cozy with church

As a bleak winter of discontent and ignominy descends upon the Irish Catholic Church, it faces the painful prospect of having to comply with a State-sponsored inquiry into clerical sex abuse.

Such a statute-based inquiry now appears inevitable, though there could yet be considerable difficulty over its terms of reference. The Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, has already cautioned that proper reflection is required before the next stage.

Hidden obstacles await. Will there be Vatican intervention, an attempt to pull the strings behind the scenes? What role will Canon Law play? Will the powers-that-be within the Church mount a constitutional challenge? The guarantee enshrined in Article 44.5 - “Every religious denomination shall have the right to manage its own affairs” - could yet be the heat shield behind which the Church tries to hide, if it opts for a policy of non-compliance.