Having known Brian for a long time on this website and had some interesting debates with him, I don't think causing offence is actually his primary motive. I would also have thought that a decent debate on religious v secular schooling has a place on the non se23 part of this forum as its a fair question. I also come from Ireland and have been aware of such stories as in the headlines yesterday, for many years since I was a young child. The rumours were rife in a small Catholic community who felt powerless to express any discontent against the Church. I'm afraid I don't therefore see whats been recently formally disclosed in ROI as being outside the boundaries of discussion on this website if not on this particular thread.

The formal institution of the Catholic Church has most definitely colluded in the cover up of some serious abuses of human rights of young people and as such there is no real distinction between one type of Catholic institution in ROI and another in the UK. There is also surely a need for a formal clean up of its act, much in the same way there needs to be one of the Mother of all Parliaments in the UK. And perhaps a review of the potentially contributory celibacy policy which is not based on religious belief, but the wish of the Catholic Church to no longer finance families of its clergy.

BTW don't we all have an opinion on everything ,and isn't that what makes this website so interesting...