the pressure is really on now, thankfully-- they are going to be forced to cough up more....and the Irish President has now called for criminal charges to be laid if at all possible. I would really love to see that happen.

The scandal within the scandal is the way the Christian Brothers and Sisters of Mercy blocked the publication of this report and also insisted on anonymity in it even for convicted criminals. This is an absolute disgrace and the church should certainly pay more - or perhaps selling off a few churches for redevelopment might encourage them to come forward with the doe.

They're Catholics... they're the richest denomination of Christianity there is. There's no such thing as poverty in the Catholic church.

Can anyone point me to where they get their money from? I am amazed that Sisters and Brothers of the Roman Catholic Church who have explicitly taken a vow of poverty often live in private houses, travel around the world etc in a material quality of life that most would never dream of attaining.

Sell their statues, and trinkets and stained-glass windows. Catholic churches are the very image of excess. Sell their expensive jewellery. Get the pope to sell all the expensive art and sculptures he hoards in the Vatican to help them pay. The Catholic Church has more money than it knows what to do with. Don't buy this bull that they're broke!

The Catholic church is on the wane. They should sell up now before the notional values are lost. Maybe save the good stuff until after the recession. It would be a big hit on eBay. The churches are not needed. No one uses them unless a radical priest spruiks reality. ( I bet they shut the schools when the numbers dwindle)

Maybe the pope could pawn some of his goodies and sell some of the others. He could pay off any amount several times over.

The Catholic "Church" is an international crime syndicate which has fostered for decades an ongoing pattern of the abuse of children. The entire organization, from their deluded leader on down, should be hauled into court on appropriate charges for violation of the RICO act.

A lot of these so called 'orders' were set up for a specific purpose...education or nursing etc. The day is long gone when they should have been wound up and closed down.

Sisters and Brothers of the Roman Catholic Church who have explicitly taken a vow of poverty

The monks and nuns take vows of poverty but the priests don't.

BaZing!!