Did Brady covered up child abuse?

[The Iceman]

He was on a trip to lourdes when he canvassed opinion I seem to recall myles (but can't be bothered checking)

As selective an audience as he could get and well he knew it..... the fraud

I can't get over the silence/inaction of those who consider themselves catholic. They want to sit in silience and "hope" that it all goes away rather than show their teeth. Sheep

Do you consider yourself Catholic Skull? If so what have you done other than post on a GAA Board?

[orangeman]

He was on a trip to lourdes when he canvassed opinion I seem to recall myles (but can't be bothered checking)

As selective an audience as he could get and well he knew it..... the fraud

I can't get over the silence/inaction of those who consider themselves catholic. They want to sit in silience and "hope" that it all goes away rather than show their teeth. Sheep

Do you consider yourself Catholic Skull? If so what have you done other than post on a GAA Board?

It's not about Skull or any other poster on this board.

It's the leader of the Roman Catholic church in Ireland we're talking about.

Don't be trying to deviate.

[muppet]

He was on a trip to lourdes when he canvassed opinion I seem to recall myles (but can't be bothered checking)

As selective an audience as he could get and well he knew it..... the fraud

I can't get over the silence/inaction of those who consider themselves catholic. They want to sit in silience and "hope" that it all goes away rather than show their teeth. Sheep

Iceman is highlighting a serious problem in the church.

If Catholic A attends church more often than Catholic B then Catholic B has no right to question the opinion of Catholic A. This is more noticeable higher up the ranks where a priest cant question a bishop, no one in Ireland can question a cardinal and God help anyone who asks a question of Rome.

This to me is why it has taken decades to even discuss serious issues such as child abuse.



Do you consider yourself Catholic Skull? If so what have you done other than post on a GAA Board?

It's not about Skull or any other poster on this board.

It's the leader of the Roman Catholic church in Ireland we're talking about.

Don't be trying to deviate.

[The Iceman]

He was on a trip to lourdes when he canvassed opinion I seem to recall myles (but can't be bothered checking)

As selective an audience as he could get and well he knew it..... the fraud

I can't get over the silence/inaction of those who consider themselves catholic. They want to sit in silience and "hope" that it all goes away rather than show their teeth. Sheep

Do you consider yourself Catholic Skull? If so what have you done other than post on a GAA Board?

It's not about Skull or any other poster on this board.

It's the leader of the Roman Catholic church in Ireland we're talking about.

Don't be trying to deviate.

I can't get over the silence/inaction of those who consider themselves catholic. They want to sit in silience and "hope" that it all goes away rather than show their teeth. Sheep

Orangeman I am not trying to deviate.  Skull made a comment and I replied to it.

[theskull1]

Do you consider yourself Catholic Skull? If so what have you done other than post on a GAA Board?

Like the rest of you I was indocrinated as an infant into believing the teachings as well as a trust in the the structures of the church. No different than any child in a religious society (i.e one perspective only & no other alternative belief systems allowed a fair hearing)

Obviously my position has evolved from there because I lacked faith (i.e I questioned things) 

So I do not consider myself to be a catholic and haven't for manys a year.

So with that in mind .........What should athiests like me do to influence change from within the CC that would be met with great support from the faithful who are sitting with their hands clasped together? Join them in prayer?

I think you know that change has to happen from the inside but faithful congregations have been so oppressed by the powerful church hierarchy for many many many generations (and probably the main reason why these vile acts went on for so long such was their corrupt grip on society), that they now lack the ability to stand up (or think) for themselves and for what is right?

[The Iceman]

Do you consider yourself Catholic Skull? If so what have you done other than post on a GAA Board?

Like the rest of you I was indocrinated as an infant into believing the teachings as well as a trust in the the structures of the church. No different than any child in a religious society (i.e one perspective only & no other alternative belief systems allowed a fair hearing)

Obviously my position has evolved from there because I lacked faith (i.e I questioned things) 

So I do not consider myself to be a catholic and haven't for manys a year.

So with that in mind .........What should athiests like me do to influence change from within the CC that would be met with great support from the faithful who are sitting with their hands clasped together? Join them in prayer?

I think you know that change has to happen from the inside but faithful congregations have been so oppressed by the powerful church hierarchy for many many many generations (and probably the main reason why these vile acts went on for so long such was their corrupt grip on society), that they now lack the ability to stand up (or think) for themselves and for what is right?

Change does have to happen from within and there is a real need for people to step up and voice their opinions on all of this and demand action.  Unfortunately it doesn't always happen.  I have penned a letter to Cardinal Brady and he has not replied to date.  He has however replied to me in the past and I am sure I am one of hundreds of letters to go through.

There is a lot of varying levels of faith in the Church and it is hard not to judge. The majority of people go to Mass because they feel they should, some go because they have to and others go because they really want to.  Within all these groups there is varying respect for the hierarchy of the Church, there is varying opinions on the teachings of the Church and varying relationships with God. 

Trying to get people to act from these groups is a challenging task because everyone has a differing opinion on how things were, are and should be.
As Irish people and particularly northerners, we all look for the negative first and are great at complaining and complaining about complaining.  What we are not great at is doing. When some people do step up and "do" something, we'll complain about that too. It's who we are.

On one of the many abuse threads I asked for people to post up some suggestions of a positive path forward for the Church, I encouraged people to write letters and encouraged people to "do" something.  That thread is now in GaaBoard wasteland as there was only one reply from BrokenCrossBar and nobody else had anything to add.  This thread was dead until there was something else to complain about.

What does it take for something to get done?

I think that's obvious........

[mylestheslasher]

Do you consider yourself Catholic Skull? If so what have you done other than post on a GAA Board?

Like the rest of you I was indocrinated as an infant into believing the teachings as well as a trust in the the structures of the church. No different than any child in a religious society (i.e one perspective only & no other alternative belief systems allowed a fair hearing)

Obviously my position has evolved from there because I lacked faith (i.e I questioned things) 

So I do not consider myself to be a catholic and haven't for manys a year.

So with that in mind .........What should athiests like me do to influence change from within the CC that would be met with great support from the faithful who are sitting with their hands clasped together? Join them in prayer?

I think you know that change has to happen from the inside but faithful congregations have been so oppressed by the powerful church hierarchy for many many many generations (and probably the main reason why these vile acts went on for so long such was their corrupt grip on society), that they now lack the ability to stand up (or think) for themselves and for what is right?

Change does have to happen from within and there is a real need for people to step up and voice their opinions on all of this and demand action.  Unfortunately it doesn't always happen.  I have penned a letter to Cardinal Brady and he has not replied to date.  He has however replied to me in the past and I am sure I am one of hundreds of letters to go through.

There is a lot of varying levels of faith in the Church and it is hard not to judge. The majority of people go to Mass because they feel they should, some go because they have to and others go because they really want to.  Within all these groups there is varying respect for the hierarchy of the Church, there is varying opinions on the teachings of the Church and varying relationships with God. 

Trying to get people to act from these groups is a challenging task because everyone has a differing opinion on how things were, are and should be.
As Irish people and particularly northerners, we all look for the negative first and are great at complaining and complaining about complaining.  What we are not great at is doing. When some people do step up and "do" something, we'll complain about that too. It's who we are.

On one of the many abuse threads I asked for people to post up some suggestions of a positive path forward for the Church, I encouraged people to write letters and encouraged people to "do" something.  That thread is now in GaaBoard wasteland as there was only one reply from BrokenCrossBar and nobody else had anything to add.  This thread was dead until there was something else to complain about.

What does it take for something to get done?

I think that's obvious........

For what its worth I posted on this thread what I believed the church needed to do before it had any credibility and also what the government should do. I am not going to write to cardinal brady because I don't really care about the catholic church, what I care is the wellfare of the irish state and its citizens.

[theskull1]

Change does have to happen from within and there is a real need for people to step up and voice their opinions on all of this and demand action.  Unfortunately it doesn't always happen.  I have penned a letter to Cardinal Brady and he has not replied to date.  He has however replied to me in the past and I am sure I am one of hundreds of letters to go through.

There is a lot of varying levels of faith in the Church and it is hard not to judge. The majority of people go to Mass because they feel they should, some go because they have to and others go because they really want to.  Within all these groups there is varying respect for the hierarchy of the Church, there is varying opinions on the teachings of the Church and varying relationships with God. 

Trying to get people to act from these groups is a challenging task because everyone has a differing opinion on how things were, are and should be.
As Irish people and particularly northerners, we all look for the negative first and are great at complaining and complaining about complaining.  What we are not great at is doing. When some people do step up and "do" something, we'll complain about that too. It's who we are.

On one of the many abuse threads I asked for people to post up some suggestions of a positive path forward for the Church, I encouraged people to write letters and encouraged people to "do" something.  That thread is now in GaaBoard wasteland as there was only one reply from BrokenCrossBar and nobody else had anything to add.  This thread was dead until there was something else to complain about.

What does it take for something to get done?

I think that's obvious........

Trying to get them to unite and do something is a challenging task Iceman because the CC has (through proper consideration) afforded it's congregations NO VOICE in regards to the running of the church. There is no forum for them to collectively voice their feelings and the CC to act on it. It's always been a top down hierarchy.

Would you not rather be standing up individually for what is right rather than wait on the flock joining you? Does this issue not require some sort of revolution to bring about the changes to stop the corruption of something you hold so dear?

Your something isn't obvious to me BTW. Perhaps you'll help me out?

[The Iceman]

Change does have to happen from within and there is a real need for people to step up and voice their opinions on all of this and demand action.  Unfortunately it doesn't always happen.  I have penned a letter to Cardinal Brady and he has not replied to date.  He has however replied to me in the past and I am sure I am one of hundreds of letters to go through.

There is a lot of varying levels of faith in the Church and it is hard not to judge. The majority of people go to Mass because they feel they should, some go because they have to and others go because they really want to.  Within all these groups there is varying respect for the hierarchy of the Church, there is varying opinions on the teachings of the Church and varying relationships with God. 

Trying to get people to act from these groups is a challenging task because everyone has a differing opinion on how things were, are and should be.
As Irish people and particularly northerners, we all look for the negative first and are great at complaining and complaining about complaining.  What we are not great at is doing. When some people do step up and "do" something, we'll complain about that too. It's who we are.

On one of the many abuse threads I asked for people to post up some suggestions of a positive path forward for the Church, I encouraged people to write letters and encouraged people to "do" something.  That thread is now in GaaBoard wasteland as there was only one reply from BrokenCrossBar and nobody else had anything to add.  This thread was dead until there was something else to complain about.

What does it take for something to get done?

I think that's obvious........

Trying to get them to unite and do something is a challenging task Iceman because the CC has (through proper consideration) afforded it's congregations NO VOICE in regards to the running of the church. There is no forum for them to collectively voice their feelings and the CC to act on it. It's always been a top down hierarchy.

Would you not rather be standing up individually for what is right rather than wait on the flock joining you? Does this issue not require some sort of revolution to bring about the changes to stop the corruption of something you hold so dear?

Your something isn't obvious to me BTW. Perhaps you'll help me out?

My "something" I thought was very obvious.
As a people all we do is complain and see the negative first.  What we need is less complaining and more "doing".

I think there should be no question on whether or not I stand up individually.  I do it on most religion threads on this board and I walk it everyday.  My last name is not Luther and I'm not ready for a revolution - I am ready for change and I am doing what I can to bring that about.  My faith and that of my immediate household remains in tact and grows stronger every day.  I have contacted Brady and encourage everyone else to. 
Change does have to happen from within the church but I think it needs to happen within all of us too. 

[orangeman]

I suggested at the outset that Cardinal Brady had lost the confidence of the majority and that he should step aside along with the rest that were implicated in the abuse scandals and let a younger generation of leaders take over the helm and try and make good the damage caused.

Cardinal Brady for some reason doesn't seem to realise this yet. His period of reflection only served to reinforce his need for power.

[Arthur_Friend]

Could someone please fixed the title of this thread!

[eggy bread]

To what?

[The Iceman]

I suggested at the outset that Cardinal Brady had lost the confidence of the majority and that he should step aside along with the rest that were implicated in the abuse scandals and let a younger generation of leaders take over the helm and try and make good the damage caused.

Cardinal Brady for some reason doesn't seem to realise this yet. His period of reflection only served to reinforce his need for power.

I think this is a fair comment Orangeman but for the sake of discussion lets break it down a bit:
Brady has the lost the confidence of the Majority of whom? The people of Ireland? Yes. The majority of the people he is supposed to minister to? Yes. The majority of the people he actually ministers to? I think, No.

If they all step aside who are these younger group of leaders? To be fair there are a lot of great priests in the country.  How many of them are leaders, how many of them are experienced enough for the job, how many of them are fit for the job?
I am definitely not rubbishing your ideas or comments. I would like to hear some more good constructive suggestions and also hear about people willing to step up and take leadership roles and get involved at the parish level.  What can and is being done by people?

There are calls for Ireland to respond to everything has went on like the Church in America.  The major difference for me, and I believe I can make a decent call on this having been heavily involved with the Church in Armagh at the Arch-diocese level and being heavily involved with my Church here in America at the Diocesan level, is the people.  People in America are very pro-church, most parishes in NJ, or at least in my Diocese have a youth group, active ministries and a dedicated team of lay people who serve week in and week out.  People are also positive here. They look for the good in people and circumstances first.  Instead of disasters and negatives they see challenges and opportunities to do better.  As I mentioned before as an Irish man I look for the negative first, look for the worst and don't really want to do anything but complain.  I think this is the reason why the Church in Ireland cannot respond to all of this like the Church in the USA managed to.  We just don't have the people.

It doesn't mean we can't emerge from this a stronger people and a stronger Church.
Complaining won't get us out of this whole mess. Doing something will.
Doing anything. Just some kind of movement from the people.

Posters on here are rightly passionate about this - but how many of yous have done something about it bar posting on the boards?
Will anyone stand up to be counted and do something, or is the sofa to comfortable, is Eastenders easier than dealing with reality? 

[eggy bread]

Could someone please fixed the title of this thread!

[orangeman]

Church pays Father Brendan Smyth abuse victim £200k
Page last updated at 21:13 GMT, Monday, 14 June 2010 22:13 UK
E-mail this to a friendPrintable version  Father Brendan Smyth leaving court with two police officers The Catholic Church in Ireland has paid damages believed to be well in excess of 250,000 euros (about £207,000) to a female victim of paedophile priest Father Brendan Smyth.

The out-of-court settlement was made without admission of liability on the part of the defendants.

Her case was due to go to a hearing in the High Court in a month's time.

The victim, who now lives in Canada, is believed to have accepted apologies from the defendants.

She sued Cardinal Sean Brady in his personal and official capacities, the diocese of Kilmore and the Norbertine Order to which Smyth belonged.

The woman accused the Cardinal of failing to take any adequate steps to ensure that Smyth did not sexually assault her and other children, despite knowing about complaints by two male victims of Smyth.

She said that 35 years later, her marriage and quality of life have been greatly affected by the trauma of the violent abuse which began when she was 14 and continued until she was 20.

In her sworn affidavit, she accused Cardinal Brady of failing to tell Irish police that the Church had received formal signed complaints against Smyth of sexual assault and paedophilia on two boys.

When he was a priest in 1975, Dr Brady had helped to investigate the allegations and had sworn the boys to secrecy about them.

The woman accused the Cardinal of failing to take any adequate steps to ensure that Smyth did not sexually assault her and other children, despite knowing about the complaints by the two male victims.

Since the controversy about the secret interviews became public last March, Dr Brady has said the did his duty by informing his bishop of Smyth's abuse of the boys.

He also said that he was not the designated authority to report to the Irish police and that Smyth's Norbertine Order was responsible for the paedophile following his removal of his priestly functions in Kilmore and other dioceses.