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I will not resign in child abuse scandal, says Irish Catholic Cardinal Sean Brady

By
DONAL THORNTON,
IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Monday, March 15, 2010, 8:43 AM
Updated Monday, March 15, 2010, 11:09 AM

 

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Cardinal Sean Brady

Primate of All Ireland, Cardinal Sean Brady, has denied that he covered up a sex abuse scandal in the 1970s.

The case in question involves infamous pedophile Fr Brendan Smyth. In the mid 1990s Smyth pleaded guilty to 74 charges of child sex abuse between the years 1958 and 1993. He died in 1997 while serving a seven-year prison sentence.

Brady interviewed two of Smyth’s teenage victims in 1975.

The two teenagers in question signed confidentiality agreements not to divulge any information about the meetings.

Brady says that he was investigating claims made against Smyth, and said the oath of secrecy was to ensure that the investigation was carried out thoroughly.

He strongly denied the oath was an attempt to protect the church from a flood of child abuse claims.

"The reason for the oath was to give it (the interview process) credibility and strength in law and robustness against any challenge (from Smyth) because he (Bishop McKiernan) was going to use the evidence which this inquiry produced to take legal action," said Cardinal Brady.

It took another 12 years before Smyth was charged with sex crimes. 

"Frankly I don’t believe that this is a resigning matter," Brady told The Irish TImes.

“I insist again I did act and acted effectively in that inquiry to produce the grounds for removing Fr. Smyth from ministry and specifically it was underlined he was not to hear confessions, and that was very important.”

Smyth was subsequently removed from his pastoral ministry, but Brady said he was not the "designated person" to report the child abuse to the authorities.

Three months ago, Brady said he would resign from his position if his failure to act against church child abuse allowed more children to be abused.

Child abuse victims Marie Collins, Andrew Madden and Colm O'Gorman said the Cardinal had "lost all moral authority or credibility" and stated it was time for Brady to resign.

"He knew in 1975 that Brendan Smyth was a child abuser but remained silent for the next 20 years," said Collins.

Collins has called on the government to extend the remit of the Murphy report to every diocese in the country.

Madden said there are now five Irish bishops known to be involved in the cover up of clerical abuse, "either by acts of commission or omission."


 

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Posted by rainbowbrew on Aug 03, 2011, 10:22 AM EDT
I am not sure about whether cannon law is from god. Most of the bible is supposedly from god but man has changed the words and meanings so many times how can we say something is from god. God would not want a law that protects criminals and allows them to continue hurting people that just does not sound like a caring loving god. i do believe cannon law is mans (not even womans) law and has to do with how the church is run. They just have some laws that are contrary to peace and love. Simple as that.
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Posted by moygannon on Jun 17, 2010, 04:37 PM EDT
I have no doubt that many young people were abused by the people they looked up to. These priests are perverts and should be registered as sexual offenders however, I do feel that a lot of claimers will come forward when money is in the offing.
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Posted by jacersisityourself on Mar 18, 2010, 03:45 PM EDT
kickstar is one helluva Church-hating person, God help him, but I accepted his good wishes for St. Patrick’s Day – I did have a very nice day, go raibh maith agat – travelling miles and miles 'Up North' to Downpatrick to visit the joint grave site of St. Patrick, St. Brigid and St. Columba (or Colmcille to some) - for obvious reasons! A great day was had by all, a real St. Patrick’s Day carnival atmosphere in the town beneath their grave. Go mbeidh Dia libh ag an am seo, a chairde i gCriost. And in the prayer of St. Patrick “Christ be in the heart of everyone...”
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Posted by jacersisityourself on Mar 18, 2010, 03:42 PM EDT
Ah shure barney I'm no old bean but I do 'get it' very much, bejaysus! Me posts elsewhere expressed my utter disgust of the perpetrators of evil acts and my sorrow for the victims in no uncertain terms >> http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Catholic-see-seeds-of-hope-in-Irish-church-abuse-crisis-84627917.html << What I’m getting at here is a small bunch of people who’ve been disparaging of the Church as a whole either through hatred or just sheer intent to embarrass the good priests and people of the Church. People make mistakes in their jobs, God knows I’ve made some clangers in my time but I didn’t lose my job over it. For similar reasons I don’t believe people outside the Church like Madden, and others inside it, have a right to call for resignations of good people like Cardinal Brady and the other bishops who may have followed not-then-but-now-flawed procedures. I even think the Archbishop of me own lovely city was far too quick to call for resignations of our bishops.
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Posted by barneyjo on Mar 17, 2010, 08:49 AM EDT
Jacer old bean, you still dont get it do you? You dont have to be a member of the Catholic Church to recognise the presence of evil in its midst. You dont have to be a member of the Catholic Church to declare that the presence of that evil is repugnant,indecent, objectionable and unsustainable. You do!! have to be a good person to have the courage to stand up for your belief in the presence of that evil. A good person is just that - a "good person" be they Catholic, Protestant or dissenter. "Madden" and "McGarry" recognise that evil for what it is, and are not prepared to be silent, or to be silenced by vilification. Dont you get it?? the parts of the edifice that are built on sand are toppling,by themselves (or maybe even with a little nudge from Heaven itself. I think you need to reflect a little more on this my friend. Yours in Christ, Barneyjo
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Posted by kickstar on Mar 16, 2010, 06:38 PM EDT
'jacersisityourself' At what point do you think Blind Faith becomes Mental Illness??? Very soon now there will be seen Three people running through the Halls of the Vatican carrying cans of Petrol and flaming torches they will be Me Sinead O Connor and Jesus Christ. Lá Fhéile Pádraig Shona Duit
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Posted by jacersisityourself on Mar 16, 2010, 03:57 PM EDT
The Catholic Church is unswerving in its view that Canon Law is above any State’s Law. Why? Well, because it is given by Christ - “Whatever you bind (anywhere) on earth shall be also bound in Heaven”. The point about this is that the Apostles and their descendants did not ask for this; they were told by Christ. They are obligated to that instruction of Christ, which is one reason why Canon Law exists. Modern-day investigative journalists are clearly forgetting or blatantly ignoring the importance of this edict to all Christians. Posters on ICentral, especially those who declare themselves as non-believers in God or Roman Catholicism and who spend their time disparaging Catholicism on ICentral’s pages should stop wasting their time and refrain from throwing spears at something that doesn’t exist for them. “Not even the gates of hell will prevail” against us who seek and follow Truth. Madden and Co are barking up the wrong tree in trying to topple the Church through their hatred. Change it, yes, we can but it can’t be toppled. Since Madden has publicly left the Church, and received his due compensation for whathe suffered, he no longer has any credible say in how it goes about its business for Christ.
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Posted by barneyjo on Mar 16, 2010, 09:18 AM EDT
Hey, if the shoe fits!!!!!!!
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Posted by barneyjo on Mar 15, 2010, 05:52 PM EDT
I won't quit, because I get to wear all these gay clothes, and bugger little boys. This 2010, when are they going to stop dressing like they were in a gay pride parade?
Report abuse
Posted by kickstar on Mar 15, 2010, 05:42 PM EDT
This man has not even the humility that would be present in a Christian, He may well be one of the Evil ones talked about by the Exorcist.
 


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