Church will continue to decline while it is run by ‘Wal-Mart bishops’

I HAD hoped the meeting of Cardinal Seán Brady and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin with the Pope in Rome last Saturday would have been marked by dialogue rather than a series of one-sided recriminations. From initial reports it, seems to be more of the latter. A lot will depend on the forthcoming pastoral letter from the Pope.

I hope it deals honestly with a number of issues and that it is based on listening to what ordinary people are saying.

In the wake of the Murphy report, many commentators have implied that the sexual abuse of children by a small minority of priests is a particular feature of the Irish church or the Irish diaspora.