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Home Page > Blogs > News blogs > People and Politics > Why do Irish media lynch mob want Cardinal Sean Brady to resign?-- Brady acted in good faith at the time investigating a notorious pedophile priest

People and Politics by Patrick Roberts

Why do Irish media lynch mob want Cardinal Sean Brady to resign?-- Brady acted in good faith at the time investigating a notorious pedophile priest

Posted on Thursday, May 03, 2012 at 08:24 AM

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Cardinal Brady speaks to the media outside Armagh cathedral (Credit: Reuters)

The harsh clamor for the resignation of Cardinal Sean Brady because of his alleged involvement in pedophile cover-up is a mistaken call.

Back in 1975 Brady was given a job to report to the-then Bishop of Cavan, Francis McKiernan, on the findings of an ecclesiastical commission on the matter of Father Brendan Smyth, a known and notorious pedophile.

The BBC is now reporting that Brady was more than just a note taker as he claimed, but they do not dispute that he gave a full and complete account of the activities of Smyth to his superiors,

In other words, all sides agree that Brady collected the information then passed it on to his superiors.
He acted correctly in that respect. Those higher up who ignored his report and allowed Smyth to keep on abusing did not obviously.

With hindsight Brady is now being blamed for not following up on his own and exposing Smyth.

But we are talking about a time 37 years ago when church hegemony ruled Ireland and a junior priest like Brady at the time would never have spoken out of line with decisions made by princes of the church.

It was simply not done. Think of a buck private contradicting a general and you get some sense of where Brady was coming from at the time.

Could he have shown bravery and courage and kicked over the traces? Chances are he would have been buried and long since consigned to some distant and remote parish. Remember, at the time the power of the church was such that police alerted to pedophile priests did not arrest them in many cases.

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Read more:

Another abuse victim calls on Cardinal Brady to quit now in shame

Irish Deputy Prime Minister calls on Cardinal Sean Brady to resign over pedophile cover-up - VIDEO

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Remember that the Irish government at the time was utterly complicit in the activities of the hierarchy and their carefully choreographed cover-ups. They allowed the church to run orphanages that were breeding grounds for pedophile priests and turned a blind eye.

When the heroic Father Flanagan, all the way from Boystown in Nebraska, tried to expose the activities in such institutions during a visit to his native Ireland a generation earlier, he was roundly criticized and told to go home by Irish politicians

A harsh word from an archbishop to a politician instantly drew him back in line.

So it was no surprise that Brady did not go out on a limb and attack his superiors for lack of action.

It may not be heroic, it may smack of craven behavior to many but Brady was no different than thousands of others who were unable to confront the corrupt system at the time.

Under Brady now the Catholic Church has become far more responsive on the issue and he has by all accounts done a fair job of securing the priesthood against any such future pedophile interlopers.

So let's not hang Brady to make a point. He has admitted he should have done more, we know why he didn’t so lets get on with it and ensure that kids are safe forever in the future instead of wasting vitriol on the past.

If Brady is fired then every complicit politician, clergyman, and policeman from that era has to be fired too.

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32 comments

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eiriamach | May 05, 2012, 07:39 PM EDT

It's sickening to see even a few people defending the cardinal and the Church that claims he's innocent of wrongdoing (Msgr Charles Scicluna, spokesman). The Independent online reported on 5/3, "Notorious paedophile priest Brendan Smyth abused 30 or more children in the years after Cardinal Sean Brady failed to report his crimes, a former RUC officer has revealed." If you keep on tossing red herrings, deflections, and ludicrously irrelevant patter about honor killings in the UK into the discussion, you will only drive more of the flock from the churches. Not only is the cardinal's moral "authority" demolished, but the longer he stays and the more Catholics try to defend him, the more clear your corruption becomes! Pretending it's not systemic in the Church will not drive it out. Every time you insist that the cardinal's moral "authority" comes from the Church structure, rather than from God's moral law and human conscience, you confirm RC's indifference to the welfare of children and its arrogance toward Irish law.

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Nicoletta | May 04, 2012, 10:49 PM EDT

Excellent analogy EamonnDublin. The BBC particularly love to talk up Islam, whilst at the same time never miss a beat when it comes to rehashing old dirt on certain Judas-like Catholic priests. If you go to see "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen" (a BBC film) you'll see how the main Muslim character is a paragon of virtue - there is no other faith as far as they're concerned. Viewers beware - don't believe everything you're fed.

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EamonnDublin | May 04, 2012, 07:39 PM EDT

"Ciaradexy" - you forgot to take your tablets, again! "Bythebay" - I simply said that we should DISCUSS THE POSSIBILITY. Are you saying that, when a young girl goes "home" from school in Ireland to Pakistan and is not heard from for the new term, that no questions should be asked? If so, then why complain about no questions in and of the Catholic church 10, 20, 40 years ago? Are you saying "there is not a single instance of honour violence in the length and breadth of Ireland"? (with apologies to Seán O'Casey). Éamonn, Dublin, Ireland.

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Curitiba | May 04, 2012, 06:58 PM EDT

Demographics WERE different, Bythebay. Not any more.

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Bythebay | May 04, 2012, 05:51 PM EDT

The UK and Ireland aren't comparable re: honour murders, EamonnDublin. The demographics are entirely different.

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Bythebay | May 04, 2012, 05:45 PM EDT

ysek888, Smyth was in Northern Ireland in 1975 when the Royal Ulster Constabulary wanted to arrest him for abuse. You don't live in Ireland and have never lived in Ireland. Your choice to hurl verbal abuse is unsurprising considering you've never lived here. Makes no difference to me whatsoever, mate.

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ciaradexy | May 04, 2012, 04:04 PM EDT

Eamonn, what are the church meant to preach? WOuld it be love or would it be paedophilia? The church ruled this country from the foundation of the state, Dev wanted it that way. The catholic church is vile.

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EamonnDublin | May 04, 2012, 11:23 AM EDT

I find it truly amazing that nobody here in Ireland alludes to the fact that it was not ONLY the Catholic church that was found sadly lacking when the child abuse was going on. Where was the media? Where were our politicians? Where were the Gardaí? Where was the medical profession? Where was society in general? Did NOBODY know what was happening? And things have not improved - for example, in the United Kingdom, in 2010 there were 2,800 CONFIRMED cases of the disgustingly termed "honour" acts of violence within the Islamic society - it is considered that the ACTUAL figure is about four times that figure. Yet, it is IMPOSSIBLE to gain the attention of the media in Ireland in order to discuss the POSSIBILITY that, if it's happening to that extent in the UK, how can we be so damned certain that "there's none of that here in Ireland"? Children go back to their "home" country for their school holidays and are never heard from again in Ireland - never any questions asked by anybody here! What about forced child marriages, etc? To say that the Catholic church was negligent to what was happening in its midst in the past decades, whilst totally ignoring even the possibility of as bad or worse happening now ("honour" murders?) is not only curious, it is totally hypocritical. Éamonn, Dublin, Ireland.

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cahalfinbarr | May 04, 2012, 10:39 AM EDT

Fair Play - an honest report. We were compliant, negligible complacent and very stupid. Had we known what we now know it would have been different. The results of our inactions were catastrophic. Would that we had known better.

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seamus60 | May 04, 2012, 09:19 AM EDT

Back in the 40`s the gestapo followed orders without question to their oath. Was`nt much of a defence when charged with abuse of human rights though.

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wdwrkr371 | May 04, 2012, 06:43 AM EDT

Bythebay there is something wrong with you boy, I bet in the real world you just love the sound of your own voice, take a week off and for once just read in silent contemplation and don't type give us a break just for one little week PLEASE!!! so we can enjoy I.C without the bitterness you bring to the table.

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ysek888 | May 04, 2012, 02:00 AM EDT

Bythebay, I don't know what your obsession is with commenting on every story to say it was in Northern Ireland and not Ireland. In any case I need to correct you on some of the facts you are stating. The now Cardinal Brady only moved to Armagh when he became cardinal as far as I am aware. While he was a bishop he lived 100yrds up the road from me for many years in the Rep. of Ireland, and from what I read Fr. Smyth was in Cavan at the time of the investigation by Fr. Brady so I don't think the RUC could have attempted to arrest him. Having said all of that I agree the cardinal Brady should now resign.

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Intercessor | May 03, 2012, 07:49 PM EDT

If Cardinal Brady gave a full and accurate accounting of Fr. Brendan Smyth's activities, why was he transferred to the States? Was he part of Ireland's "Pedophile Priests without Borders Program?" Brendan Smyth went on to abuse dozens of others in America, where again, he was transferred from one parish to another, and another, and another! Cardinal Brady could have been instrumental in stopping this notorious abuser, but wasn't!

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DannyBoyG | May 03, 2012, 06:07 PM EDT

Excuses, excuses, excuses. I am waiting for the usual Church apologists to come on here and post some excuse for this. Perhaps their leader Bill Donohue will have some sorry angry statement to make. This is all so sad. Sad for victims, their families and all who really try to make it right for the Church. The apologists and sorry excuse makers...you can all burn in he**....

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oldboreen | May 03, 2012, 03:55 PM EDT

Reading most of the comments, makes me wonder whether the writers concerned actually read Patrick Robert's article! Oh has he unwittingly provided yet another opportunity for the 'whoopee let's bash the Catholic Church'mob?

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