Par for the course

Anticipating child abuse by priests within the Catholic church, Pope John XXIII issued a directive in 1962 to all Bishops on how to deal with it. What a shock, the welfare of the children wasn't on their radar. Their concern was all for covering up the abuse.

The Vatican instructed Catholic bishops around the world to cover up cases of sexual abuse or risk being thrown out of the Church.

The Observer has obtained a 40-year-old confidential document from the secret Vatican archive which lawyers are calling a 'blueprint for deception and concealment'. One British lawyer acting for Church child abuse victims has described it as 'explosive'.

The 69-page Latin document bearing the seal of Pope John XXIII was sent to every bishop in the world. The instructions outline a policy of 'strictest' secrecy in dealing with allegations of sexual abuse and threatens those who speak out with excommunication.

They also call for the victim to take an oath of secrecy at the time of making a complaint to Church officials. It states that the instructions are to 'be diligently stored in the secret archives of the Curia [Vatican] as strictly confidential. Nor is it to be published nor added to with any commentaries.'

We have since seen direct evidence of the implementation of this policy and how it resulted in thousands of victims over decades.

Scumbags.