Catholic Church to make full apology to priest accused in the wrong

Bock. Maybe he doesn`t understand hiding true allegations of sexual abuse was actually defending child abusers. Outdone only by moving the peados on to a fresh stock of possable victims.

He`s waiting permission to defend the indefensable. lol

Nothing back from Kilbarry. Hmm.

And the catholic church had yet to make any kind of meaningful apology to the victims of its priests and those (the bishops) who protected them.

Killbarry. Surely most priests are known to the general public and complaints against them would most likely come from people who were in personal contact. Again the lack of transparency from the leadership in the church has left it open to this type of journalism. The same leadership have the right of reply to name and shame liars working to the agenda you wish us to believe.

I notice your website, irishsalem.com, has been closed down. What did you do to cause that? I forget whether you used to be a priest or a monk, and maybe you'd just clarify that for the readers.

Bocktherobber- Do you understand that denouncing false allegations of child abuse is NOT the same thing as defending child abusers?

Kilbarry -- People can look it up for themselves. Maybe it would be no harm if you explained about your own website defending clerical child abusers, so that people would understand you're not exactly detached from this.

According to Bocktherobber "Oliver Brennan stood up against those who protected clerical child abusers,and was himself persecuted for doing so. This was a decent man who stood by his principles, and he was made to suffer for doing so."........ If this was actually true, there would be an avalanche of newspaper articles from our anti-clerical journalists instead of one very short one in the Irish Independent. Indeed it's quite possible that Fr Brennan was targeted because his name was in the newspapers at the time and therefore he was fairly well known. This has happened on numerous occasions before - and the targets have been "liberal" AND traditionalist clerics who attracted obscene allegations simply because their names were known to the general public. Thus in 1995 Bishop Brendan Comiskey went to the USA for treatment of alcoholism; there followed a frenzy of obscene lies in the newspapers - up to and including a claim that he was fleeing allegations of child abuse. A short time previously he had been reprimanded by Cardinal Cahal Daly for raising the issue of married priests. However we can be reasonably sure that the Cardinal was not the source of the obscenities! ..... A few years later a journalist published a biography of Archbishop John Charles McQuaid that included claims he had been a paedophile - and the Sunday Times publicised the book by publishing the relevant section. The claims were so lacking in evidence that one anti-clerical reviewer REGRETTED that they would create sympathy for the late Archbishop! .... There were several other allegations of this kind all aimed at WELL-KNOWN prelates. That is the only qualification you need nowadays to become the target of some crazy loser.

This story was widely reported in the Irish papers when it first broke. Anyone who takes the trouble can look it up. Oliver Brennan stood up against those who protected clerical child abusers,and was himself persecuted for doing so. This was a decent man who stood by his principles, and he was made to suffer for doing so.

Bocktherobber. If what you are saying is correct. Fr Brennan holds the golden egg. He is now in a position to tell his story and prove how corupt some of his fellow clergy still are. Best of luck to him.

Smyrnian. I would be more inclined to worry about victims who have not had the strength to come forward as they will have already been suffering in silence for god only knows how long. ( sorry a few bishops might know as well). I would sincerely hope that all priests with morals to match what they preach, would stand up to their superiors and rid the church of those who have left them all so vunerable. Forget about bishops not knowing what to do in the face of past offences, carried out on their watch. The fact that they moved the offenders on to fresh stock blows that excuse out of the water. So little was their concern for the young victims, they didn`t appear to worry about how many new ones their inaction would result in.

The journalism here is a disgrace. Patrick Counihan, for reasons known only to himself, has failed to explain the real facts behind the persecution of Oliver Brennan, an innocent man. Of course, it could simply be because the story he reworded from the Irish Independent didn't mention those facts.

Maxtiger. As we do not know yet why credability is an issue we can only assume there is something underhand. As for what happens in the present with clergy accused of whatever, things may not be as they are percieved. Recently a priest was given a parish to run in Fanadhead. Co Donegal, even though he earlier pleaded guilty at Derry court to improper behaviour in the public toilets of a local shopping mall.

The bishop brought up the accusations after Fr Brennan supported his parishioners who felt that Cardinal Sean Brady was not a fit person to attend confirmations. The parishioners were concerned because Brady had previously sworn abused children to secrecy. As a result of supporting his people against child abuse, Brennan was shafted by the cardinal. That's why they have to apologise.