From the Irish Independent

Sir - It seems your front-page story titled 'Gay sex ring at seminary revealed in Ferns report' has been criticised for confusing gays with those who abuse legal minors. Having scrutinised the story again, I note that nowhere in the article do the reporters state that all gays abuse minors. The article merely states that the Ferns report provides sensational details of a homosexual ring operating at St Peter's college, and later goes on to say that St Peter's was one focus of the investigation into abuse.

Since we know that gays are no more likely to abuse legal minors than heterosexuals are, it would seem sinister if most, or all, of the clergy being investigated for abuse were also gay. It might well, for example, be indicative of a hidden agenda of unknown parties to persecute and harass gay clergy.

For this reason, I would even go so far as to urge your Religious Affairs Correspondent, David Quinn, to find out what proportion of clergy who have been investigated for abuse are gay and tell us. Then maybe we can make up our minds about who is really harassing gays.