Case for a ‘loyal opposition’ within the church

WHILE not disagreeing with Gregóir de Buitléir (‘Battering the brothers’, Letters May 29), I must honestly state there was severe and excessive physical punishment in the two religious-run schools that I attended.

I encountered battering priests and brothers and remember my school days as a time dominated by fear. However, it is only fair to say the kindest teacher I ever had was a Christian Brother.

Also, while agreeing in general with Michael O’Driscoll’s point (Letters, May 29) that huge areas of the Catholic church do not seem to have experienced the awful catalogue of abuse detailed in the Ryan report, and that culpability lies with individual abusers and those who failed to deal with them, I am concerned that some Catholics may be tempted to find various ways to absolve the church itself from any blame.