Don’t condemn good priests for actions of minority

THE CIoyne abuse scandal is a very sad story, and I agree that there was an awful lot of wrong done by the people working for the church, but we must remember that it was people who did wrong here.

I am not church going, was raised Catholic but stopped going years ago of my own accord. I also live in the diocese of Cloyne, in the parish of Cloghroe in fact. I am now in my 20s, part of a demographic of our society that have virtually abandoned mass-going, and religion to a lesser extent.

I do feel sorry for the majority of priests who have done no wrong, but whose reputations are now tarnished by the actions of a minority, and who will be viewed differently due to this scandal. I worked as an altar server when I was younger, and the parish priests were always passing in and out of our school. I can honestly say that I never met a priest that I could say a bad word about. They were kind, loving and very respectful towards us, our families and were morally upstanding. In fact, speaking to my girlfriend’s family about this just Monday night around the dinner table, on the eve of the report — this was the opinion of everyone. With ages ranging from 20s to 70s.