The Earth's Axis Shifts

Under a barrage of reports detailing a long history of clerical child abuse, the Vatican was shaken by the words of an Irish leader.

Gone are the days of Eamonn DeValera, who worked hand in hand with the Catholic Church in Ireland to re-shape Irish society....and left a horrible legacy behind.

Long gone, it has become obvious, is the day when an Irish politician held his tongue out of fear of the power of the Catholic Church.

On the heels of the Cloyne Report, Enda Kenny lambasted the Vatican for aiding and abetting the abuse by not taking action to protect the children. Instead, the Church played a little shell game by moving the pedophiles from one parish to another, rather than tackle a serious issue.

How bad has the once cozy relationship become?

Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza, papal nuncio, has been recalled to the Vatican for a consultation.

That has all the sound of damage control in full swing, a highly organized dance to avert disaster that must be planned by the top of the hierarchy.

When the leader of a country that was long considered the most Catholic nation on the planet accuses the Holy See of looking after its power base rather than preventing the rape and abuse of children, you know you have a serious problem that can't be ignored. It's not going away.

The Vatican's world has shifted on its axis, caused a trembling within Castel Gandolfo. So great was the shock, and all its aftershocks, that a response to Mr. Kenny cannot be left to a lone priest.

Does this mean that the Pope's visit to Ireland is put off indefinitely, so?