The Vatican isn't what it was a few centuries ago or even fifty years ago. The sexual abuse problem has been hidden for years including the bombshell that Cardinal Brady in Ireland attended meetings where 10 year old boys were forced to sign a vow of silence about abuse. Now that the Pope himself is directly linked to a scandal it's going to be difficult to avoid taking this problem seriously. To date though, the Catholic officials tied to the scandals have resisted all attempts to be forced out. This has to change.
The crisis gripping the Catholic church deepened today, with calls for national inquiries to be held in Germany and Ireland to fully disclose the detail and extent of sexual abuse by priests.
With hundreds of allegations surfacing in Europe since the start of the year, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, said the scandal of abuse in the country's churches and schools posed a "major challenge" that could be resolved only through a full and frank inquiry into all cases.
In Ireland, which has already seen far-reaching investigations into the abuse, the Archbishop of Dublin said a national inquiry into historic claims may be the only way to fully restore confidence in the church.
