Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Victim’s father ‘horrified’ at Brady role in welcome
THE father of a man abused by a priest in Co Down says retired Cardinal Sean Brady should not have been allowed to welcome Pope Francis to Ireland.
The pensioner said he was “horrified, stunned and sickened” to see the former cardinal at the head of the queue of clerics at Dublin Airport.
And he added that Cardinal Brady, who resigned from his post in 2014, should be defrocked for his part in the Church’s investigation into the 40-year reign of terror and abuse by prolific paedophile Brendan Smyth.
The man, who cannot be named in order to protect his son’s identify, added: “I’m sick to the stomach seeing Brady head of the queue to meet the Pope. What is he doing there? He should be in a darkened room hanging his head in shame.
“He and many others in the Church sat through so-called inquiries into paedophilia and did precious little to bring the sex abusers to justice.
“He confirmed he was the note-taker during interviews with boys who were abused by that monster Brendan Smyth in 1975 but it was years before Smyth was jailed and the police only got involved after he was exposed by UTV.
“Any decent man would have walked out of those abuse interviews and taken their notes straight to the police and they wouldn’t have looked back or concerned themselves with the reputation of the Church.
“I’d have done everything in my power to protect the children who told their stories. Brady should have ensured no other child ever faced abuse from anyone in the Catholic Church.
“What exactly did he do? Maybe if he’d done more my son would not have been abused years down the line.
“But too many pervert priests felt protected because their filthy little secrets remained secret because of the action – or lack of action – of the likes of Brady and others. For youngsters to sit and explain what Brendan Smyth did to them and see no effective and immediate action taken by the Church is a disgrace.
“Cardinal Sean Brady or as he was known back then, Dr John Brady, should have run to the police station and informed on this monster and any other monsters he was aware of.
“Instead children were asked if they enjoyed being touched by Smyth, they were left feeling the abuse was their fault and abandoned to deal with the situation alone and in shame.
“Brady was part of that interview process. No matter how big or how small a part he played, what he says he witnessed should have been fully and explicitly reported to the police immediately.
“Brady should not have been in a line-up at Dublin Airport welcoming the Pope into Ireland. He’s part of the problem and should not be honoured with the position. The sight of him there horrified, stunned and sickened me to the core.”
A Garda investigation into the activities of the child sexual abuser was triggered following the 1994 broadcast of UTV’s Suffer Little Children which addressed Smyth’s abuse of children.
A number of documents later surfaced including Cardinal Brady’s handwritten account of answers provided at a secret 1975 inquiry into allegations of abuse by notorious Smyth.
In later public statements Dr Brady described his role at the inquiry as “recording secretary” and as “note taker”.
He turned 75 in 2016 and submitted a letter of resignation to Rome as canon law required, which is accepted at its discretion but he retains the title of Cardinal and continues to wear the episcopal vestments and pontificalia.
Paedophile Smyth was jailed in Belfast in 1994 for abuse of children in Northern Ireland in the 1980s and in 1997 he was jailed in the Republic but died later that year.