In her opionion column in today’s NYTimes, Maureen Dowd writes about the child-abuser priests in Ireland and a hero among the clergy, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, which reminded me of a dramatic moment in Jack Neary’s play “The Porch.” I hope many of our readers were able to see the Actors Inc. performance of the play at the UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center in the past few days. From scenes shaped around the comedy of everyday life, the play turns in act two and peaks in a tragic scene that brings home the tragedy of a church-based abuse scandal. Neary shows us the power of art to address difficult subjects.