Insults unjustified

M Duncan (Letters, 19 February) objects to having repeated remarks about clerical abuse of children described as "puerile". This abuse was, of course, shameful and abhorrent, but it was the crime of a tiny percentage of priests and religions worldwide. Thousands of good, upright men and women have been stigmatised en masse as "abusers", simply because of their calling in life.
By The Newsroom
Published 22nd Feb 2010, 20:35 BST
Updated 22nd Feb 2010, 20:38 BST

Day after day we read of doctors and teachers who have behaved unethically towards their patients and pupils. Do all doctors and teachers get branded as a result? Of course not. So, to perpetually repeat these accusations as if they applied to all Catholic clergy should definitely be described as "puerile", not to mention libellous.

Mary Bell

Gourlaybank

Haddington