Catholic church must now give control to the laity

It is simply dishonest of the Pope to pretend he didn't know about sexual abuse by Catholic clergy against children. Believe me, there is not a single Cardinal, not one Archbishop, nary a bishop and not a Monsignor who is not fully aware of the appalling evil these servants of God have inflicted upon the faithful.

Yes, I know because I attended an expensive Catholic boarding school run by brothers of the De La Salle order, and though personally subject only to feral violence from several and the vituperative hate of one of the bastards to whom I wouldn't heel (may you rot in Hell, Brother Alan), not all of my fellow pupils were so lucky. Sexual abuse of boys by the De La Salle brothers was widespread and well-known to a Catholic hierarchy that bought-off complainants, shifted abusers from school to school and used threats, violence and intimidation to keep us quiet. Men now in late middle age are only now facing the abuse of those times. One of my old school alumni has a quiet website where victims, some of whom believed for decades that they were alone, can find confirmation of the institutionalised abuse at the hands of the bastards.

Well, folk are resilient, and I guess most of us got over it. They didn't destroy my faith, or my Catholicism. I can say the words of the Nicene Creed in truth and belief. The abusers are now pathetic octogenarians or nonagenarians where they still live, no doubt dreading the fate of their souls. But please don't pretend the church wasn't fully aware of the abuse. Or that the fake sincerity of the Pope's 'regrets' can put an end to the matter.

Spiritual celibacy is a gift from God that comes naturally and rarely to a few. From shamans to gurus and other holy men, it occurs universally and when it does it is valued. It cannot be forced or induced. The Catholic church now faces a revolt from we, its owners. And we demand change. Clergy should be encouraged to marry. Women should be consecrated to the Priesthood. And more, we can no longer allow the church to be managed by the same people from whom the laity need protection. The management of the church organisation must be secularised.

In Austria and Germany, Catholics must by law pay a 1% income tax to the church. Failure to do so attracts criminal law penalties like any other tax evasion. It is the one Hitler law that both nations kept; Hitler confiscated the vast tracts of church land - agricultural, forestry and city centre real estate - for the State and in return granted the church the right to levy an income tax on the faithful.  It's what enabled the Bishop of Limburg to spend £26m on building a new palace for himself. So here in particular church members have a greater right than most to take over the governance of the church.

The current Pope is I believe a gift in time; few love him, and Francis is a Pope whom few Catholics respect overmuch or with whom few would regret clashing. It's the perfect moment to push reform. Bring it on.