Child abuse and cover-ups are about power.

THE BEHAVIOUR OF the institutional Catholic church in Ireland and around the world is certainly a stark example of both of these truths. But it is not the only example, even in contemporary Ireland. The Irish Amateur Swimming Association, for example, gave coaches the power to do what they liked to children and then engaged in a process of denial that was, albeit on a much smaller scale, essentially the same as that of the bishops.

The problem is not swimming, any more than it is Catholicism. It is power.

Fintan's utter predictability on any topic and John Water's claptrap were two of the main reasons I stopped buying the Irish Times every day a few years back.

But this piece just nails it. A perfect summary of the root cause of the problem. A direct riposte to those who think this is about believers vs secularists.