Pope Benedict should ensure that Cardinal Sean Brady, the head of the Irish Church who has refused to resign over the mishandling of a serial abuser and his attempt to enforce a secrecy agreement on child victims, should leave his post forthwith.
He should also demand that Cardinal Bernard Law, the former Archbishop of Boston, quit his haven in the Vatican and return to the United States to face legal proceedings.
The perception of ecclesiastical impunity, the drip-drip of revelations and the clumsy attempts at cover-ups are inflicting as much damage on Catholicism as the sale of indulgences and venal pursuits of the clergy in the 15th century. It must stop now. The Times
