Catholic Church child abuse scandal: religion as a licence to prey

Ireland in the 20th Century: for countless small children, orphans alone in the world and children confined in special prisons for some petty crime against property or for bunking off school, life in institutions and schools run by Catholic priests and nuns was a childhood-long nightmare of violence at the hands of nuns, priests and Christian Brothers (a male, monklike, celibate, teaching order).

http://www.workersliberty.org/story/2010/04/01/catholic-church-child-abuse-scandal-religion-licence-prey