In an organisation run by elderly celibate men according to arcane rules that even the most faithful struggle to understand, it was probably a dead cert that the Vatican would mess up last week when it announced new regulations covering clerical child sex abuse.

The reform of canon law was meant finally to shut the door on the abuse scandal that has rocked the Roman Catholic Church across the world. It was heralded as a tightening of church sanctions against clerical child abusers and those who cover up their crimes.

But when the pope decrees that "attempted ordination of women" as priests is a crime in canon law as grave as the sexual abuse of minors, he is rightly criticised as having lost the plot entirely.

The message going out is that both the ordination of women and paedophilia are the same category of offence. Priests taking part in both face excommunication under the reformed canon laws.

The changes involving sexually predatory priests are welcome, though of course, they are far too late. The damage has been done. But they will allow victims to make complaints against priests for up to 20 years after their 18th birthday, instead of the 10 years now allowed.

They also reiterate the duty of all priests and bishops to report allegations of clerical sex abuse to civil authorities immediately. Bishops can no longer deal with cases within their own dioceses. Rome must be informed of all allegations immediately. It will also be easier to defrock an abusing priest.

It is unclear why the Vatican has chosen to include its hardline attitude to the ordination of women with its tougher stance on child sex abuse. The Vatican will now be involved in a pedantic debate about the difference between moral and sacramental infringements of canon law. But the damage is done. The move can only alienate women further.

It is utterly self-defeating. The Church in this country could not have survived without the contribution of women, especially after the abuse scandals. They have been the backbone that has allowed so much Church work with the younger generation to continue as, sad to say, people no longer trust their children to be left unsupervised with priests.

The attitude to women – who can be excommunicated for wanting to be active servants within the church – can be taken in no other way than as an insult. The misogyny within the hierarchy is sealed in canon law.