The finding this week of the remains of Charlie Armstrong, who was abducted by Provisional IRA paramilitaries while on his way to Mass almost 30 years ago, murdered and secretly buried will come as some relief to his family.

They have waited 29 years to offer Mr Armstrong the dignity of a Christian burial on consecrated ground. Those who murdered him and secretly buried his body have committed a dastardly, wicked and sinful crime.

The Church has always held sacred the human body both as a Temple of the Holy Spirit and out of deference to the truth that God became man in the Incarnation.

As a consequence, the Church has always taught that the human body must be treated with the utmost respect both when the person is alive and after their death.

It is in this context that the fate of the so-called ‘disappeared’ in Northern Ireland is such a vile anti-Christian affront to human dignity.

To add insult-to-injury, Gerry Adams - the leader of Sinn Féin who has spent decades making excuses for PIRA atrocities - has insisted that there is no evidence to suggest the PIRA was involved.

It is a cruel and unnecessary intervention by Mr Adams. He, perhaps more than most, knows tie vile culture that led cowards to abduct, murder and secretly bury innocent people. He should apologise for and withdraw the comments.

While Mr Armstrong’s family will soon have the consolation of a funeral, there are still many other families who have no knowledge of their loved ones. On the other hand, there are certainly people in Mr Adams’ movement who do know the location of those executed.

Such a sin cries to heaven.

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