And who are there to admonish the priests?

In a parish newsletter this weekend the following appears:

"In view of what is happening in our country could it be said that a politician with a conscience is as rare as the corncrake. ....."

Could that be re-written to say:

"In view of what is happening in the clerical church could it be said that a priest with a conscience and a mind of his own is as rare as the corncrake?"

The newsletter quotation is yet another sign of the breathtaking arrogance of the Irish clerical church.

The constant attack on democratically elected politicians, with all their faults and limitations, becomes tedious and even more boring than so much of what we hear in churches day-in day-out.

The job of the priest is to talk about the Good News.

That same newsletter asks: "Who of our political party leaders is most likely to convert to Christianity?"

And that too could be re-written:

"Who of our priestly leaders is most likely to convert to Christianity?"

A report published last week showed how the corncrake is making a comeback in Ireland.