Church and state: three contrasting caricatures

YOU offered three contrasting caricatures on the evolving relationship between the Christian churches and Irish society (October 24).

The opinion of Ian Elliott, CEO of the National Board for Safeguarding Children, that the Catholic Church as a whole is finally getting its act together with respect to the protection of children is encouraging – if it proves to be sustainable.

Mr Elliott is on the payroll of the church, so he is not entirely independent of it. But the dogged persistence of his investigation of the child sex abuse issues in Cloyne during the tenure of Bishop John Magee means his opinions now have some stature.