Root and branch reform of Church practices needed

The response to the latest shocking revelations of clerical sex abuse have included calls for new Garda inquiries and investigations.

Your editorial on Sept 6 comments on the gravity of what has been uncovered. New investigations might expose similar tragic conclusions, but what is perhaps most glaring is the pathetic response of Church authorities to the enormous deficiencies in their culture of accountability and, most especially, their capacity to hold those responsible for poor practice to account by promptly replacing those with damaged credentials.

All of the bishops made a unanimous decision in 2007 to mandate their Safeguarding Board to conduct audits of safeguarding practices and policies in dioceses and congregations.