Ungodly notion

You report the representative for the Christian Brothers has stated at Scotland’s child abuse inquiry that “by today’s standards” the order fell short of desirable standards of child protection (22 June).

This is an odd statement given that the Catholic Church and its various religious orders have always claimed absolute moral authority based on revelation, and continue to instruct all of us as to what and what isn’t acceptable by way of sex and sexuality. Are the Brothers really telling the inquiry that in spite of being so certain about matters of human sexuality, somehow their moral certitude did not extend to the rights and wrongs of forced sex with vulnerable children, until now?

Perhaps its just as well that morality is, after all, a human construct that evolves over time and experience, and not some god-given gift from 2,000 years ago.

ALISTAIR MCBAY National Secular Society Atholl Crescent, Edinburgh