The key subtext to the recent row over the right of Catholic adoption agencies to discriminate against homosexuals was the widespread public perception that the Catholic Church is a homophobic institution - a position reinforced by gay lobby groups, which regard the Church's defeat over the adoption issue as a singular triumph over a powerful enemy.

This ought not to be the case. It would be wise of the bishops to consider what they might do to change this perception, before it does more harm. But it will not be easy. For instance, even the modest concession made by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor to allow a regular Mass in London specifically for Catholic homosexuals will bring angry denunciations from the vigilantes of conservative orthodoxy. He will no doubt be delated to Rome, even though he may well have taken the precaution of consulting Cardinal Levada of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in advance. Perhaps being denounced in turn by Catholic homosexual organisations for not conceding enough will help him deal with such protests, though that might also reinforce the unfair impression on the Left and in the gay community that the Church is "up to its gay-bashing ways again". The message of the cardinal's gentle and sincere protestation in The Sunday Times - "Me, a gay-basher? Dear God, no!" - will travel only so far.

To the bishops, their position makes perfect sense. They are against "unjust" discrimination against homosexuals, but say they cannot compromise their principles. Last year's submission to the Government on behalf of Catholic adoption agencies asserted that they already applied non-discriminatory policies in employment. Is that the general rule in the Church now? Would a headmaster in a Catholic school who came out as gay still keep his job? Or a lay church official? Or would a nod and a wink be the best they both could hope for? This is not a sphere ruled by clear principles. This is fudge, ...

The proposed "compromise" by the Government over the fate of Catholic adoption agencies is in truth a defeat for the Catholic Church and a victory for those who have been opposing any exemption to the new regulations against homosexual discrimination. But the Government's position has to be confirmed by Parliament, and MPs have yet to test the strength of Catholic feeling in their constituencies ...

Battle has been joined over the threat to Catholic adoption agencies, contained in a clause in proposed legislation to outlaw discrimination against homosexuals in publicly funded services.

The 12 adoption agencies in England and Wales have a total budget of nearly £100 million a year, and more than half of what they spend on adoption work comes from local authorities. The Catholic ...

Catholic priests are not employees of the Catholic Church. Nor are they labour-only subcontractors or management consultants, nor, strictly speaking, are they self-employed. The difficulty of legally categorising them has become an unresolved issue between the Catholic bishops of England and Wales and the Government's Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), which oversees legal issues surrounding employment generally. ...

This time, at least it was not about sex. That is almost the only comforting fact to emerge from the fiasco in the Polish Catholic Church over the appointment of a new Archbishop of Warsaw. The dramatic last-minute withdrawal of Archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus has damaged the reputation of Pope Benedict, who at best acted in good faith on bad advice, at worst ignored all the warning signs he should have seen ...