The Catholic church isn't the only institution to close ranks in a scandal | Simon Jenkins

The police, the NHS, the army – all suffer from a culture of denial. Yet for democracy's sake, they must reform and revive

'We need a change of culture.' Whenever I hear this I think of the Catholic church, the army, the NHS, the police or any number of British institutions. They all share a curious lack of concern for how the outside world sees their internal practices and procedures. After some scandal they may agree to a change of culture, but it is usually code for the opposite.

There is li...