Child Abuse Scandal in Ireland

The report of the Commission of Investigation into child abuse by the clergy in the Archdiocese of Dublin finally released its findings yesterday and the Catholic church has been rocked to its very foundations here in Ireland. I am not one for joining in witch hunts but neither am i one to condone the sick behavior of clerics who used their position of privilege to abuse children. The struggle of those who were abused down through the years and who fought this battle to bring the church to account has to be commended. They were fobbed off for years by people in a position to help them and the excuse has been that it would have done more damage to the reputation and the assets of the church than was wise to allow so they tried to cover it up by moving these sick people around to different Parishes where they were free to continue their abuse of innocents. It was never going to work long term but they did get away with it for years and now the day of reckoning has finally come, and it is not over yet. It turns out that our police force were also involved in that they had at times dealt with complaints from victims by referring them directly back to the church rather than follow them through themselves as they should have done.Now there is an internal police force investigation also. Many of these abusers are dead and gone but not all of them and there is no doubt that there will be a follow-up procedure where evidence exists and there will be prosecutions. The main task now is to put in place legislation and procedures that will ensure that this cannot happen again. Unfortunately this takes time but the sooner the better.
Where the church stands now and how they can recover from this is the big question. I really do feel sorry for the good men in their ranks and how they can now carry on in the face of this terrible shame is going to be a major task. The Arch Bishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, has been a ray of light and hope in this dark hour for the church. He has braved the media and some of the interrogations have been way above and beyond the bounds of reasonable but he has been humble and expressed his deep sorry and sense of shame at it all and has done his utmost to assist in every way to get to the root of it all. This man has not held back and sometimes seems to stand alone. We need more like him if we are to survive this shameful episode in the Catholic Church in Ireland. There is no doubt that the church in Ireland has its enemies and what a great opportunity this is for them now to try to finish them off. Is there any hope for the church now?
The story of Jesus when he explained the work of the potter comes to mind. The potter makes his clay and when this is done he shapes and moulds it. If he gets it wrong he does not try to patch it up. He breaks it down completely and then starts from the begining again. I think the church tried to keep on patching things up and now maybe it is all being broken down so that they can start afresh and learn from their mistakes. Maybe that is what is about to happen.
It is important to remember at this time that down through the years the church and many of its good men did an enormous amount of good work here in Ireland and elsewhere. Power became its great enemy and the abuse of that power. Now the power is gone and maybe we can have a church once again like the one intended by Christ. I would like to think so.
I would like to hear your comments and maybe where the church is at in your country right now.