Something of a consensus exists among church historians that, had the Vatican treated Martin Luther and his circles in a more conciliatory manner at the start of what became the Reformation, it might not have happened. Many of the theological points he was raising were subsequently found to be valid, not least his denunciation of the sale of indulgences. But the rough rebuttal he received led him to adopt positions ever more extreme until there was no reconciliation to be had on any terms. This is a lesson of history that needs to be recalled with some urgency in the case of the Vatican's treatment of the mass movement Wir sind Kirche (We Are Church). It began in Austria in a revolt by many parish clergy and laity at the refusal of Cardinal Groer of Vienna to resign in the light of allegations of the sexual abuse of a minor, which were subsequently recognised to be well founded. Now the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the highest court in the Catholic Church, has ruled that members of We Are Church may be excluded from official church bodies because of their dissent to church teaching in certain areas, including advocacy of the ordination of women.

The example of the Reformation may have been in Pope Benedict's mind when he made conciliatory overtures to the Lefebvrist movement the Society of St Pius X. He was eager to find a basis on which they could return to full communion with the Holy See, a policy somewhat derailed when it was pointed out that one of the Lefebvrist bishops was a Holocaust-denier and anti-Semite. Far from healing a split in the Church, therefore, a further wedge was driven between the Catholic Church and the Jews. Subsequently there was more criticism from church leaders of Pope Benedict's handling of the matter, including his failure to consult with his own advisers, than anybody could remember. Indeed, he admitted mistakes were made.

The issue of how to treat dissent in the Church is a highly sensitive one. Is it inconsistent ...

Catholic Ireland has suffered a series of moral earthquakes that have shaken it to its foundations. The latest shock arises from the publication of the Ryan Commission Report into the industrial school system that used to be run by religious orders, where appalling cruelty was endemic and institutionalised. Other reports are expected this summer into sexual abuse committed by priests and the efforts by church authorities ...

There was an unexpected echo of President Barack Obama at the heart of Archbishop Vincent Nichols' installation sermon at Westminster Cathedral. Spelling out what he means by calling for "respectful" dialogue in modern society, the archbishop declares: "Let us be a society in which we genuinely listen to each other, in which sincere disagreement is not made out to be insult or harassment, in which reasoned principles ...

Pope Benedict's visit to Jordan, Israel and the West Bank appears to have achieved all that he set out to achieve as a pilgrim and man of peace. He applied gentle but effective pressure on Israel's coalition Government and its Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, not to wander too far from the road map defining the "two-state" peace process, which in the view of the Vatican, Washington and most of the rest of the world, ...