Fr. Brendan Smyth child abuse victim suing Cardinal Sean Brady

PATRICK COOPER,

IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Sunday, March 14, 2010, 10:24 AM

Updated Monday, March 15, 2010, 11:10 AM

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Cardinal Sean Brady

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A victim of child sex abuse in Ireland is taking legal action against Cardinal Sean Brady, claiming he knew that pedophile Fr. Brendan Smyth abused her and did not pass on the information to the proper authorities.

The woman is suing Brady both personally and in his capacity as Primate of the Catholic Church in Ireland.

The Sunday Independent reports that Brady was one of three clergymen who interviewed the woman and another victim in 1975 about her years of abuse at the hands of Smyth from 1970-1975.

After the interviews, the two victims signed confidentiality agreements not to divulge any information about the meetings to anyone except their own approved priests.

Fr. Brendan Smyth was one of Ireland's worst child abusers with victims in Ireland, the UK and America. He went on to abuse innocent children until his arrest in the 1990s.

The Catholic Information Office released a statement confirming that Brady attended two of the 1975 interviews, recording proceedings at one and recording and asking questions at the other, in his role as part time secretary to then Bishop of Kilmore Francis McKiernan

The statement goes on to say that Brady passed on his findings "as a matter of urgency" to Bishop McKiernan for action.

The other two defendants named in the lawsuit are Head of the Norbertine Order Fr. Gerard Cusack and Bishop Leo O'Reilly of Lismore.

Smyth was a member of the Norbertine Order, which is located in County Cavan in the diocese of Lismore.

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adfloatj23 | Mar 17, 2010, 10:00 AM EDT

I do believe Knowthyself is correct the catholic church as it is today as in the past cares only for itself and the advancement of itself, It states that cannon law is above the laws of the land, And we have allowed this to be, Its time for change, Put the church in its place and Jail the abusers including the people that covered for them,But the church is like a very large corporation, It can`t be attacked from outside but the priests and nuns are doing a great job of killing it from within with a bit of luck it will collapse, Who need men in skirts telling us how to live our lives, certainly not by their example.

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knowthyself | Mar 16, 2010, 01:52 AM EDT

Sounds like Pass the buck excuse to me. All should held accountable , Priests, Bishops, Cardinals & Even the Pope when it Comes to Sexual Child Abuse , No Man is above the Laws of the Land or GODS Laws ! IF they are Found Guilty they should be expelled from the church and Punished as criminals under Civil Laws of the Country they were commited in, As a Roman Catholic i am sorry to say the Church is on the verge of collaps .Its crumbling from the corruption from within. ----- VATICAN---VATICANOUS ---- HOUSE OF EVIL

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kickstar | Mar 16, 2010, 12:20 AM EDT

I think the catholic church has become part of the Mob, Yes I truly believe it is now a huge Criminal Concern.

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kickstar | Mar 15, 2010, 05:55 PM EDT

To ceciliag, pray in one hand a s**t in the other, see which one fills up first.

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barneyjo | Mar 15, 2010, 04:56 PM EDT

"Keep the faith; change the Church - there's nothing else left to do now!! No hope otherwise!!

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Carroll09 | Mar 15, 2010, 09:11 AM EDT

I still haven't made my mind up yet about the Cardinal-I don't believe we're getting the full picture.He was at the meetings to record what was said & to establish grounds for dealing with Smyth-he reported to the bishop (who Fr Brady along with everyone else believed would do the right thing).If the bishop were still alive,people would be seeking his head (rightly perhaps)and there would be no focus on the Cardinal because he had given the bishop the necessary information to deal with Smyth both in Canon & Civil law.The Norbertines also knew about Smyth's problems since the 1940's.I wonder when the lawsuits will move onto the psychiatrists who until the 1980's believed that paedophilia was a curable illness & that many notorious priests were fine to go back into ministry, not to mention negligent police and other elemets of secular society who turned a blind eye...

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ceciliag | Mar 14, 2010, 04:25 PM EDT

Everyday of my life I ask Almighty GOD to settle sex abuse cases for all victims all over the world. It would seem that my prayers are being answered. And even if this means that the Roman Catholic Church is left with only one altar on which to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, it will be worth it. I will never believe that Jesus wanted his Apostles to live in palaces, telling time by Rolex Watches and eating, drinking & smoking the best that money can buy.

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