Last time the Daily Moaner reported on the abuse cases within the Catholic church was in November. You can read the story here.

Cardinal Brady looks fetching in a Red Dress
Recently Cardinal Brady has been explaining his role in the little matter of Father Brendan Smyth , an Irish priest who was allowed by the Catholic church to continue abusing little boys, long after he’d been exposed as a serial molester.
Back in 1975, Brady had meetings with the complaining children, in which they were persuaded to sign “vows of silence “. This was, the church says, to “avoid potential collusion” which might prejudice the church’s own enquiry. After this inquiry, Smyth was moved, and went on to enjoy years and years and years of the same, before he was put away. No church officials contacted the police. And they must have known that the abuse would continue, because it always does, doesn’t it ? Once into little boys, always…
All this time Cardinal Brady’s conscience has been troubling him, until this week he could take it no longer, and burst out with a completely spontaneous and scripted expression of remorse. “Looking back,” he said, “I am ashamed that I have not always upheld the values that I profess and believe in.”

Nobody Cared
That’s thirty-five years this poor man has suffered sleepless nights, many of them while the abuse — but let’s say crimes — was going on. Filled with remorse and shame, doing nothing, saying nothing. Being forced — forced! — to lie to himself and others. And if we believe that, we will believe anything.
The good Cardinal adds that the church “must humbly continue to deal with the hurt caused by abuse of children.” Humbly continue… does anyone ever remember a time when the Catholic church was ever humble? Look around at all the gold plate, the rich costumes… they don’t do humble.
What it’s all about
The St Andrew’s Day confession, of course, is part of the Catholic church tidying up before the Pope’s planned visit to Britain in September. Il Papa has his own problems in the area of child abuse. Voices are being raised ever higher in his homeland about the Ratzinger role in slamming the lid shut on years of abuse.
And he also has problems emerging in Switzerland, Austria and Holland. America has been and still is awash with law-suits stemming from suppressed child abuse. Canada ditto. And no doubt the rest of the planet.
So Benny will, this coming weekend, be sending out a pastoral letter out, dealing with the problem. Because he needs to get all this stuff out in the open and dealt with (sort of), and then forgotten, by the time he comes to preach to the C of E on the merits of doing a Blair and joining the Catholic church.
There is a well-known on-line betting site, Paddy Power, which has recently reduced the odds on Benny the Rat resigning. You can only get 3 to 1 now.