Out with the old, in with the old

Catholic leaders never fail to amaze me. Vincent Nichols, the new head of the nutters in England and Wales, says priests who have owned up to abusing children in Ireland’s church- and state-run institutions are displaying “courage”, according to the Telegraph.

This is akin hearing a judge praise a murderer or serial GBH offender for pleading guilty as charged.

Nichols’s comments come after a damning report on the activities, which shows that there was a “catalogue of disturbing and chronic sexual, physical and emotional abuse inflicted on thousands of disadvantaged, neglected and abandoned children by both religious and lay staff over the last 70 years”.

The dangers to the children were not taken into account, the inquiry found in a report which caused outrage at the news that no abusers will be prosecuted as a result.

The report found: “The risk [to children], however, was seen by the congregations in terms of the potential scandal and bad publicity should the abuse be disclosed.”

This Nichols idiot is quoted as saying, “It’s very distressing and very disturbing and my heart goes out today first of all to those people who will find that their stories are now told in public [. . .] Secondly, I think of those in religious orders and some of the clergy in Dublin who have to face these facts from their past which instinctively and quite naturally they’d rather not look at.

“That takes courage, and also we shouldn’t forget that this account today will also overshadow all of the good that they also did.”

Yes, Archbishop, but some torturers are probably good dads and sing in the local choir.

And – horror of horrors! – they “have to face these facts [. . .] which instinctively and quite naturally they’d rather not look at”.

Was it because of holding sentiments such as these that your predecessor turned a blind eye to child abuse, Archbishop? And could it be a pointer to the future, on your watch?