While Pope Francis expressed contrition for the crimes committed by the clergy, the consensus is that he did not go far enough in terms of outlining the steps he intends to take to ensure that abuse is eradicated from the church’. These words were central to an editorial which appeared in the Irish edition of The Sunday Times on Sunday 2nd September. Entitled ‘The taoiseach was right to put the Catholic church in its place’, it sought to evaluate the previous weekend’s papal visit. The reference to ‘the consensus’ in this context was, arguably, the most revealing aspect of the editorial. Not feeling obliged to offer specific evidence in support of so significant a conclusion, the writer seemed content to merely reference the prevailing ‘consensus’.