Only God can counter the ill effects of political and media collusion

ANY serious offence against a child can cause great distress, especially in later life, and many would agree such conduct is second only to abortion.

Most people realise there is selective silence by the media on the terrible sufferings which do not sell newspapers, such as hardship resulting from placement on hospital waiting lists or refusal of medical assistance in maternity emergencies.

In previous decades, media silence was also a contributory factor after the political establishment put vulnerable people in the custody of institutions within some of which these people were mistreated and, in a small number of cases, abused through the conduct of a corrupt minority who held power.