How is it possible to support the church when you have someone like Cardinal Brady still around? He should have been among the first to be fired since he admitted to participating in secret meetings where young boys were forced to sign vows of silence. Maybe the church still has support among the elderly but their future could not possibly look any worse in the former bastion of support in western Europe. The Guardian:
Adrienne Kelly, on a day out from Co Meath, said the papal letter of apology had come too late. "The damage is already done," she said. "There doesn't seem to be any way back for the church now after all the scandal and the abuse. It's very sad, but people are very angry over what has been done to children in this country by so-called men of God. You just cannot make all this scandal go away in one letter."
Maureen Murphy from Killmainham in Dublin said she did not think the pope's intervention would make much difference. "It must be terrible for older people in Ireland who love their church to hear all this. But younger people don't listen any longer to the hierarchy. They are spiritual in their own way and don't want to be told what to do. It's also a shame for all the really good holy men still in the church who have done no wrong. It would be unfair to tar them all with the same brush. But this letter won't change things now. There has been too much scandal, too much horrible stuff."
