Bishop Willie Walsh and journalist Patricia Coyle give their reactions to scandals within the Catholic church.
'The Late Late Show' devoted an entire programme to examining the fall out of revelations of child sex abuse within the Catholic Church in the 1990s. Here, presenter Gay Byrne talks to two of his panellists. The first, Dr Willie Walsh is Bishop of Killaloe, and feels that there are a number of factors at play in the current crisis, including falling numbers at Mass and confession. But he also thinks the Church deserves a lot of what has happened to it in recent years.
I have been awful sad. You know and maybe it's very personal, only two weeks ago, I talked to a fellow bishop over the phone and the two of us were crying. And I went to bed crying that night.
The second panellist, Patricia Coyle, is a journalist and lecturer from Derry. She feels that the Church's response has been totally inadequate.
I don't think many people tell bishops the truth.... If something like the scandals that have broken in the church over a number of years now.... if that had happened in the medical profession or in any other profession, they would have a crisis meeting. They would be saying, what can we do?
This edition of 'The Late Late Show' was broadcast on 3 November 1995. The presenter is Gay Byrne.
