It is consistently apparent, every time a bishop, archbishop, cardinal or pope “apologises” for the appalling criminal conduct of their institutions, their clergy and even themselves over multiple decades, that their understanding of apology is as tenuous as their understanding of the particular egregiousness of priestly child sex-crimes.

“Bishop Tomlinson acknowledges that the Diocese of Sandhurst had its share of perpetrators of sexual abuse ‘like every other Diocese in Australia’”.

No, Bishop. The Sandhurst Diocese has the second highest rate of clerical child sexual assault in Australia, over a sustained period of 60 years.

As many Catholics will attest, 60 years is a very short time in Catholic church terms, so it is possible to suspect this figure may be the tip of the iceberg, the complaints of only the strongest, youngest victims and survivors of criminal priestly depravity and vicious Catholic hypocrisy.

Bishop Tomlinson’s qualified apology is an exercise in minimisation and continued denial, and adds further insult and injury.

The Archbishop of Brisbane, Mark Coleridge, has testified in recent days to the ongoing Royal Commission that the Catholic church operates as a law unto itself, predicated upon a “culture of concealment”.

The continued pathology of this culture is apparent in Bishop Tomlinson’s claim that rates of child abuse in Sandhurst need to be read “in the correct context”.

What is the correct context for the life-long trauma of systematic physical and sexual brutality, spiritual betrayal and psychological torture?

One victim is too many. One abusive priest is too many. There is no “but”, Bishop.

To the two pool installers who helped us enormously on Thursday when my husband had medical issues and our car had broken down in traffic.

You are a credit to Bendigo.

If voters receiving an aged pension and owning their own home vote for the business sector on local or federal government, they need to revise their thinking.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called for the family home to be included in the age pension means test, and the removal of family benefits for non-working parents to be axed.

They claim that “because of pension increases, increases in superannuation tax breaks means seniors are paying less tax than they used to, and other increases in services, particularly on health and aged care, and that’s had a really big impact on the budget position”.

This is the organisation which is calling for tax breaks for the rich corporations and don’t cry over excess CEO payments.

Nor, the politicians’ spending and snouts in the public trough.

It really requires some understanding as to why this organisation would attack the most vulnerable and require them to be responsible for budget repair, when there are other items that could be used to fix the federal budget.

Is it the fault of a home-owning pensioner that the value of housing has increased, when all they wanted was a home of their own.

It shows the greed of this representative body, looking after their own interests.

HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you have something to get off your chest? Send your letters to the editor to addynews@fairfaxmedia.com.au, or PO Box 61, Bendigo, 3552.