ARCHBISHOP Conti's attempt to pin the blame on Cardinal O'Brien for blocking a review on sexual abuse within the Catholic Church in Scotland could be viewed as part of a campaign to make the cardinal the scapegoat for the shortcomings of the church's hierarchy ("Cardinal's successor 'to open files on abuse within Catholic Church'", The Herald, September 24).

His comments about the victims of the Nazareth House abuse in 2000 have been criticised in some quarters as showing a lack of compassion.

One of the worst examples of the bishops' arbitrary power was the sudden closure of Columba House, the Edinburgh home of the Scottish Catholic Archives, in late April, despite previous assurances that adequate notice would be given to researchers. The pretext given was a serious outbreak of mould. Even at the time this sounded lame since rumours of the mould had been circulating since mid-February. Requests to see the specialist report commissioned on the mould have been rejected. Suspicion that the outbreak was not as serious as claimed was fuelled when Aberdeen University announced at five days' notice that the older portion of the archives, which have been transferred there, would be accessible again from early August.

The Scottish Catholic Media Office has sought to portray the archives scandal as a storm in an academic sherry glass. With the breaking of the Fort Augustus Abbey abuse story ("Charity calls for public inquiry into claims of school abuse", The Herald, August 16) there are questions to ask.

The abbey's records and those of the diocese of Aberdeen in which it is situated were in Columba House. Are they still there? Will Columba House re-open? We do not know, since there has been a wall of silence from Archbishop Conti and his fellow trustees. Attempts to engage with Archbishop Tartaglia, as president of the Scottish Bishops' Conference, have met with similar tactics. This lack of transparency and accountability in the Scottish Catholic hierarchy makes my blood boil. I know people who are giving up practising as Catholics because they are scandalised by the bishops' behaviour. When I was received into the church 35 years ago I told the priest instructing me that joining was for me was the least worst option. To the many who have asked me recently how I can bear to stay in a church whose leaders behave so badly, I say that I did not become a Catholic because I admire bishops.

Ian Campbell,

Professor of Architectural History and Theory, Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh, Lauriston Place, Edinburgh.

"HOW much filth is there in the church, even among those who, by virtue of their priesthood, ought to belong entirely to Christ. How much vainglory, how much self-compla­cency ... have mercy on your church." These are the words of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) in his Meditations for the Stations of the Cross, Rome, Good Friday, 2005.

Certainly may God have mercy on His church in Scotland. This meditation was not just about sexual abuse; it was more than that. How long do Catholics in Scotland have to put up with complacency? Is Archbishop Conti aware of how anti-Christian his letter can seem to be against a broken man who, sinner as he is (like all of us) has been hounded with a vindictiveness not seen anywhere else in the Catholic Church, to the very considerable grief and distress of many in his archdiocese, priests and laity, who knew him for a good pastor?

Archbishop Conti claimed that, had he known about Fort Augustus, he would have acted, yet as Bishop of Aberdeen he dismissed accusations of abuse against the Sisters of Nazareth House, Aberdeen, one of whom was convicted of the crime. Archbishop Conti has treated with contempt the professional expertise and research of the great majority of the academic community within and outwith Scotland by his insistence on breaking up the Scottish Catholic archives. How many people will be driven out of the church in pain and in hurt, because they cannot live in that church?

Jenny Wormald,

School of History, Classics and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, Teviot Place, Edinburgh.