The malaise of our time - Government ill-prepared for change

IRELAND’S Catholic Church has endured over two decades of deserved criticism, facing well-founded accusations of hypocrisy and sheltering the most reprehensible individuals and practices, of hurting many of the most vulnerable people entrusted to its care.

It also exerted a legislative influence far beyond that which was appropriate in a truly inclusive society.

It has lost credibility and support. It has been forced to surrender its central place in formation of contemporary conscience. Compared to what it once was it is an afterthought, almost a relic of another time when different priorities held sway.