Letters: Cardinal points

I just can't swallow the argument that the torture and murder of people because of their religious beliefs must be overlooked because of higher goals. How would we feel if a local council contracted a firm known to be involved in violent crime because of "higher goals"?

One might have thought that the idea of supporting oppressive regimes out of national self-interest was in retreat following recent events in the Middle East and North Africa, but it seems alive and well at The Scotsman.

RICHARD LUCAS

Broomyknowe

Edinburgh

Would that Cardinal O'Brien directed his ire at his own bosses in the Vatican about the rights of the child, than at William Hague and Britain's foreign policy over the plight of Christians overseas.

This week the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) used the plenary session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to accuse the Holy See of contravening its duties under the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child in relation to child abuse.

When the IHEU made similar accusations at the UNHRC in September 2009, the Papal Nuncio present did not deny them, but had claimed that a report, by then 12 years overdue, was being "finalised as we speak".

Yet 18 months on, and approaching an incredible 14 years overdue, that report still remains to be filed. During that time, global and systematic child abuse by Catholic priests has been extensively publicised, and the Holy See's determination to keep the incidences of child abuse by its priests away from the secular authorities has been revealed in various Vatican letters made public.

If the Cardinal wants to expose the allegedly unethical and morally bankrupt policies of those in power, he should first look no further than his own organisation.

Alistair McBay

Methven

Perth