IRELAND
The Irish News
Fionnuala O Connor
26 April, 2016
NUALA O’Loan knows how an organisation protects its own and belittles accusers.
She knows all about institutional cover-up, having skilfully unmasked precisely that in policing here.
In return she took insults and threats but media comment was a strong ally. So it is sad to see her in a recent university conference attacking Irish media treatment of the Catholic Church – in a bizarre location.
Boston: scene of this year’s vivid Oscar-winning Spotlight, on the local Church’s handling of paedophile priests over many years.
The media failing there was not exposing the crimes decades earlier, despite having considerable evidence.
Boston-Irish Catholic communal identification, plus fear and awe of the overweening Cardinal Bernard Law, trumped honesty, and the press duty to challenge power.
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