One in Four report - Bishops kept abuse scandal under wraps

AS a shocked public continues to reel under the growing barrage of evidence of widespread sexual abuse of children by priests, the annual report of the One in Four charity underlines the fact that the Ferns scandal was only the tip of an iceberg.

The nationwide extent of abuse now emerging illustrates the hypocrisy of bishops who for years had swept allegations against clerics under the carpet while at the same time laying down swingeing moral precepts governing the sexual behaviour of lay people.

While the vast majority of priests eschewed the appalling behaviour of depraved colleagues, the bishops kept the issue under wraps.