Clerical abuse!

[Orior]

Folks think of Sharia law and how it is administered in fundamentalist Muslim countries and then you have some idea of what Ireland was like pre 1980s. I'm old enough to remember it and to speak out against the church wasn't on anyone's radar never mind a card carrying member like Brady. Not excusing the lack of action on his behalf just contextualising it.
I remember having a row with my own parents about an incident that happened with a local young neighbour of mine that was "hushed" up not by the clerical authorities but by the local pillars of the civil community and when they told me how it had been dealt with I could understand it more while still being repulsed by it.

Everyone is ignoring Declan's post, which sets the context perfectly. He was a bit player in these awful incidents.

I truely believe that he is a good and decent man.

[orangeman]

RTE must be part of this "manhunt" as well ?.

Being decent and good doesn't come into this.

There are plenty of people who have committed great criminal acts who would have come across as decent and good.


Why didn't he tell the parents of those he knew were being abused as he was in charge in Cavan at the time ?  He was a teacher for God's sake.

[Abble]

Would he possibly have been given assurances that the abusers were to be dealt with and those who were supposed to handle that never stuck to their word ? was he just a frontman and those in the background never acted ?

[give her dixie]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-17921673

The Catholic primate of all-Ireland has said that he will not resign as Church leader despite revelations in the BBC's This World show.

It found Cardinal Sean Brady had names and addresses of those being abused by paedophile priest Brendan Smyth.

However, he did not pass on those details to police or parents.

Cardinal Brady said he accepted he was part of "an unhelpful culture of deference and silence in society, and the Church".

"With others, I feel betrayed that those who had the authority in the Church to stop Brendan Smyth failed to act on the evidence I gave them," he said.

"However, I also accept that I was part of an unhelpful culture of deference and silence in society, and the Church, which thankfully is now a thing of the past."

The cardinal said he was "shocked, appalled and outraged" by Smyth and said he had trusted that those with the authority to act in relation to Smyth would treat the evidence seriously and respond appropriately.

He accused the BBC of exaggerating his authority in the programme.

"The commentary in the programme and much of the coverage of my role in this inquiry gives the impression that I was the only person who knew of the allegations against Brendan Smyth at that time and that because of the office I hold in the Church today I somehow had the power to stop Brendan Smyth in 1975.

"I had absolutely no authority over Brendan Smyth. Even my Bishop had limited authority over him. The only people who had authority within the Church to stop Brendan Smyth from having contact with children were his Abbot in the Monastery in Kilnacrott and his Religious Superiors in the Norbertine Order."


He added that he had worked with others in the Church to put these new procedures in place and looked forward to continuing that vital work in the years ahead.

Senior Vatican Prosecutor Monsignor Charles Scicluna has defended Cardinal Brady.

"My first point is that Fr Brady was a note taker in 1975, he did what he should have done. He forwarded all the information to the people that had the power to act," he said.

"My second point is that in the interest of the Church in Ireland, they need to have Cardinal Brady as the archbishop of Armagh because he has shown determination in promoting child protection policies. You need to have leaders who have learned the hard way and are determined to protect children."

The BBC investigation centres on a secret church inquiry in 1975 when a 14-year-old boy was questioned about abuse.

Smyth abused him and others in guesthouses on trips across Ireland.

In 1975, Cardinal Brady was a priest and teacher in County Cavan in the Republic of Ireland, when he was sent by his bishop to investigate a claim of child sexual abuse by a fellow priest.

That priest was later exposed as Ireland's most prolific paedophile, Father Brendan Smyth, who died in prison in 1997, one month into a 12 year prison sentence.

The first child to tell his parents about the abuse was 14-year-old Brendan Boland.

The man tasked with the secret church investigation that followed would later become the most senior priest in Ireland.

Sean Brady's role in the affair became clear in 2010, when it became known that he had been present when the abused boy was questioned.

He claimed, however, that the boy's father had accompanied him, and described his own role as that of a note-taker.

However, the BBC This World investigation has uncovered the notes Cardinal Brady took while the boy was questioned.

The child's father was not allowed in the room, and the child was immediately sworn to secrecy.

What Cardinal Brady failed to tell anyone in 2010 was that Brendan Boland had also given him and his colleagues the precise details of a group of children, some of whom, were being abused by Smyth.

Cardinal Brady did interview one of them and swore him to secrecy.

This World spoke to all of the children who Brendan Boland had identified; they all told the programme that to the best of their knowledge none of their parents or families were warned in any way about the paedophile Brendan Smyth.


The investigation centres on a secret church inquiry in 1975 when a 14-year-old boy was questioned about abuse, as Mark Simpson reports.
Four of them had been abused by Smyth. Two of them continued to be abused after the 1975 inquiry.

One of them - originally from Belfast - told the programme that Smyth continued to abuse him for another year.

He also said Smyth abused his sister for a further seven years and then in turn, his four younger cousins, up to 1988.

Cardinal Brady did consider his position as Primate of all-Ireland when his role in the secret inquiry was first exposed.

The Catholic Church has said that "the sole purpose of the oath" signed by Brendan Boland in Cardinal Brady's presence was "to give greater force and integrity to the evidence given by Mr Boland against any counter claim by Fr Brendan Smyth".

The church also points out that in 1975, "no state or church guidelines for responding to allegations of child abuse existed in Ireland".


The Catholic Church has been knocked off its pedestal in Ireland, and its leader is battling to hold onto his own position.

Cardinal Sean Brady has been under pressure for some time. But he has always made it clear he will not resign, unless there is specific proof that his failure to act allowed clerical child abuse to take place.

Clearly, he does not believe the evidence in the BBC documentary meets that criterion.

However, with the media spotlight on his past, the Catholic primate is struggling to shift the focus to the present and the future.

That is a very uncomfortable position, for any church leader.

Irish Justice Minister Alan Shatter said the programme's revelations were "tragic and disturbing".

Abuse victims' campaigner Marie Collins, who was raped at the age of 13 by a hospital chaplain in Dublin, said Cardinal Brady should resign.

"I'm amazed no bishops have come out and said he should go," she said.

"We have priests and theologians being silenced by the Vatican - they can act against people whose views they feel are liberal, but they will not act against someone who not only endangered children but let them be abused.

"If Cardinal Brady came out and espoused the view that women should be ordained, he'd be gone within hours."

Gary O'Sullivan, editor of the Irish Catholic newspaper, said Cardinal Brady had questions to answer.

"If a child can see the need to save other children, how come priests, ministers of Christianity, cannot have the same awareness?" he said.

"If he wants to stay in this leadership position, he should show leadership and come out and answer these questions because this culture of silence failed children."

[Tubberman]

It doesn't matter a bloody damn if he had power over Smyth or not!
This is a so-called man of God who knew one of his colleagues was raping children. His defence for doing nothing about it is that it wasn't in his job spec. It's not in my job spec either, but if I found out a colleague of mine was raping children, you can be guaranteed I'd be straight to the Gardaí about it.
Not alone did he know Smyth was raping children, he knew of other children also being abused. Again, saw no reason to do anything about it.
He (along with others throughout) actually kept this from the children's parents. It's completely sick!

And this man is supposed to be the leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland. What a stinking cesspit of an organisation.
Makes me so fcking angry.

[armaghniac]

While hadn't a major role in the debacle, there is no doubt that Brady made a serious error of judgement in the past, something he does not deny.  Indeed he has probably learned from this and is the least likely person to allow it again.

The question is whether someone is excluded from office because of a past mistake? Both first ministers in NI have a questionable past and certainly kept company with people doing unacceptable things. In the Republic the cabinet several stickies, has a drunk driver, another who readily admits he was wrong in the Bridget McCole case.

[orangeman]

It doesn't matter a bloody damn if he had power over Smyth or not!
This is a so-called man of God who knew one of his colleagues was raping children. His defence for doing nothing about it is that it wasn't in his job spec. It's not in my job spec either, but if I found out a colleague of mine was raping children, you can be guaranteed I'd be straight to the Gardaí about it.
Not alone did he know Smyth was raping children, he knew of other children also being abused. Again, saw no reason to do anything about it.
He (along with others throughout) actually kept this from the children's parents. It's completely sick!

And this man is supposed to be the leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland. What a stinking cesspit of an organisation.
Makes me so fcking angry.

Don't be so angry - just put it into context and everything will be ok.

In all sincerity put like that, the man should be chased, not allowed to resign. Chased.

[orangeman]

While hadn't a major role in the debacle, there is no doubt that Brady made a serious error of judgement in the past, something he does not deny.  Indeed he has probably learned from this and is the least likely person to allow it again.

The question is whether someone is excluded from office because of a past mistake? Both first ministers in NI have a questionable past and certainly kept company with people doing unacceptable things. In the Republic the cabinet several stickies, has a drunk driver, another who readily admits he was wrong in the Bridget McCole case.

Big difference is they're not our moral guardians.

[Declan]

Tubberman your anger is completely justified.

It's not in my job spec either, but if I found out a colleague of mine was raping children, you can be guaranteed I'd be straight to the Gardaí about it.

Unfortunately the likelihood in Ireland of the 1970s is that they would have been part of the cover-up as well

[Abble]

going by the bbc's update i wasn't far wrong

"Would he possibly have been given assurances that the abusers were to be dealt with and those who were supposed to handle that never stuck to their word ? was he just a frontman and those in the background never acted ?"

the BBC should now redirect their investigations and go after those responsible for the cover-up in the first place, they (in my mind) are the real perpetrators and almost as bad those responsible for the abusing, not Brady.

[johnneycool]

going by the bbc's update i wasn't far wrong

"Would he possibly have been given assurances that the abusers were to be dealt with and those who were supposed to handle that never stuck to their word ? was he just a frontman and those in the background never acted ?"

the BBC should now redirect their investigations and go after those responsible for the cover-up in the first place, they (in my mind) are the real perpetrators and almost as bad those responsible for the abusing, not Brady.

Even if he was the frontman, it wouldn't have taken him long to work out that he'd been told a pack of lies by his superiors, so he then proceeded to do nothing? He was a grown man FFS.
If one priest had come out with hard evidence which Brady had back then it would have given these allegations a lot more credibility than joe soap saying so, but Brady hadn't the swingers to do the right thing for gods children.

Certainly his then superiors who instigated the cover up have serious questions to answer and many may have passed on to be judged at the pearly gates, but its the lack of support from the current church both in Ireland and Rome which drags this issue on and the Catholic church worldwide won't cleanse itself of this plague until it starts telling the truth and giving external investigators access to all evidence it has on the matter.

[brokencrossbar1]

going by the bbc's update i wasn't far wrong

"Would he possibly have been given assurances that the abusers were to be dealt with and those who were supposed to handle that never stuck to their word ? was he just a frontman and those in the background never acted ?"

the BBC should now redirect their investigations and go after those responsible for the cover-up in the first place, they (in my mind) are the real perpetrators and almost as bad those responsible for the abusing, not Brady.

That is correct but since then Abble Brady has become Primate of Ireland and therefore the most powerful authority in the church in the country.  Given the knowledge he had available to him surely he had a legal and moral obligation to come forward with that information?  Instead he has hidden behind the mantra that he was only a small cog when in reality he could have been the real leader against this despicable cover up.  In my eyes his hads are as dirty as the abusers.

[qwerty]

He says that he did all that was expected of him by passing the information onto his boss. Surely he was very aware for 13 years after the interviews that Smith was still free and very likely to be still roaming the country and raping children. Did that thought never cross his mind in 13 fecking years??

[ziggysego]

Sean Brady did take the evidence from a young Brendan Boland, including the names and addresses of other young children who were suspected of being sexually abused by Brendan Smyth.

The Church did nothing to protect Boland or other children from future abuse from Smyth. Smyth continued to abuse more children up until 1988.

I refuse to believe that Brady did not know the whereabouts of Smyth and there was a wider cover-up of his actions.

Brady should have went to the RUC or Gardi with his information. Instead, he sat on his information and was promoted by the Catholic Church in Ireland by fast tracking him through the ranks, which has now taken him to the highest post in Ireland.

Brady, Conway and the rest of the men behind the cover-up have forever tainted the Church in Ireland and have casted mis-trust over the many 100s of good Priests and Bishops working within the Church here.

[muppet]

I just read Brady's statement and it disgusts me.

While there might be an argument for his actions being viewed in the context of the 1970s, his failure to resign will be viewed in the context of all that we know now, in 2012. He simply doesn't get that and evidently neither does Rome.