Church betrayal

Mary Bell (Letters, 23 February) tries hard to dilute the Catholic Church's involvement in child abuse by referring to a "tiny percentage of priests and religions worldwide".

She is correct in stating that the number of nuns and priests involved in the sexual and physical abuse of children are in the minority, and paedophiles and abusers are adept at slotting into environments where they have access to young people, such as youth groups, schools and religious organisations.

What makes the Roman Catholic Church stand out is that the problem was widespread, with alleged abuse taking place on a global scale in countries such as the USA, Canada, South America and Ireland and recently there have been similar allegations made against the Church in Germany. It could also be argued that this only reflects the international spread and presence of the Church worldwide.

What cannot be brushed aside with reference to "libellous" comments is that the Roman Catholic Church made a decision to place its own reputation ahead of the safety and well-being of many Catholic children by moving abusers from one parish to another and effectively placing paedophiles in a position where they had access to fresh victims.

The behaviour of the hierarchy in the Roman Catholic Church was a gross betrayal of the very tenets of Christianity.

MARGARET DELUSSEY

Oakleigh Drive

Greenock