The issue is the economy, not which church you don't attend

Last month several thousand cases of clerical sexual abuse were reported from Philadelphia in the USA. This week several thousand more cases were uncovered in Germany.

The Pope is being confronted not by Paisleyites, but by his own cardinals.

He has been challenged on two fronts: First by those who accuse him of not doing enough to tackle child abuse in the church.

And second by conservative Catholic critics who accuse him of modernising and diluting the faith.

Why then are Northern Ireland`s problems still portrayed as Catholic and Protestant infighting, when the religious divisions are disappearing?

Home rule is no longer Rome rule. The Taoiseach is a gay man of Indian descent.

Could it be that the two main parties cling to their posts by banging the Lambeg drum on the one hand, and bemoaning the invisible border on the other?

This endless debate has elements of tragedy and farce.

The question for those of us who live in the province is: Would we be better served by a Dublin government or a London government?

And the issues that count include the health service, social benefits, education, etc. and the ‘economy stupid’; not which church do you not attend.

The new complicating factor is Brexit. Brexit is commonly misconstrued as anti-European. Not so. Brexiteers are mostly pro-European.

They are however vehemently opposed to the Brussels bureaucrats who are calling the shots.

Interestingly there is now a move in the Irish Republic to question the dominance and arrogance of these unelected EU officials who are more powerful than any prime minister or president.

The central problem remains controlling migration and the wave of refugees fleeing starvation and tyranny in much of Africa and the Middle East.

This will not be about distinguishing between Catholic or Protestant Muslims.

Wm Sidney Lowry, Co Down