Offenders were never properly punished

As time goes by and one has time to reflect, what seemed like an unsurmountable problem turns out to be just a molehill, but sometimes to your chagrin, the reverse can occur.

For over three weeks our airways and other media have been inundated with the exploits of whistleblowers and penalty points, etc. Our police have been accused of acting as judge and jury and you know the rest.

Way back in early 2000 our Church had a problem: Its ranks of clerics were swollen with an increase in the numbers of paedophiles and child abuse was rampant. The ordinary citizens may have been horrified but that inbred respect that they had for the Church and its representatives prevented them from reporting what was taking place to the gardaí and they reported to the bishops instead.