A Government notice that tells a shocking story

This Government notice

appeared in all Irish national newspapers on Wednesday. It has also appeared in regional newspapers in recent days.

Justine McCarthy in her column in The Irish Times yesterday commends the Government for the inquiry but asks why the inquiry has been restricted to schools run by Catholic religious orders. 

Does this means schools run by diocesan clergy are not included? And what about schools run by religious congregations, which are not technically religious orders?

What about survivors who attended non-Catholic-run schools, which often happen to be the schools attended by the less-privileged?

Reading a notice like this, one is forced to ask how does the institutional Catholic Church claim to know so much about God when it keeps saying it was not aware of the profound damage that sexual abuse causes.

How can a church that has spoken so often and authoritatively on matters of sexual morality now claim that it did not realise the damage that was done by paedophile priests and brothers?

The certainty with which Catholic Church leaders speak never seem to cause them a moment of embarrassment.

Is there a bishop or church leader anywhere in the world who has expressed genuine embarrassment?