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CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY has made a public apology to the victims of sex abuser Brendan Smyth.
A BBC programme recently revealed that a child who had made allegations of abuse against Smyth had given a Catholic Church inquiry the names and addresses of other children at risk. It transpired that their parents were never warned about the danger facing their children from Smyth. Cardinal Brady acted as a notary during the 1975 inquiry.
The revelations sparked a spate of calls for Brady’s resignation from victims of clerical abuse, from other priests in Ireland, and from members of government.
Today, Brady told RTÉ News that the parents should have been informed.
Brady was attending a pilgrimage this weekend in preparation for the Eucharistic Congress, which Ireland is hosting this summer.
The events of the last week and the events of 37 years ago featured repeatedly in his thoughts during the pilgrimage, he said, and “it brought home to me a new realisation once more of the enormity of child sexual abuse.”
“I once again want to apologise to all victims [and] those who have suffered.”
He also apologised directly to Brendan Boland, who said he had given the inquiry the names of other children at risk. Brady also offered to meet Boland to offer his apology in person.
The Primate of All Ireland said that the parents of abuse victims should have been informed. ”I regret very much that they weren’t,” he added. The fact they weren’t informed led to further pain and trauma for the children, he acknowledged.
He said he felt let down himself that Brendan Smyth wasn’t curtailed from abusing again, which he said he thought would have happened. “But we are now where we are – we must concentrate on the present and make sure that such terrible events never happen again.”
Responding to calls for his resignation, he said he’d heard the calls for him to step down, but that he had received “many many calls from people who want me to stay”. He said he would leave if the Holy See offered any suggestion he should do so.
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Nice to see Donegal not getting slatted in relation to motoring.
Really who gives a shit!what a daft poll..
Yep. It’ll be one of Conor Faughnan’s irrelevant sound bites in a few weeks to deflect attention away from a question he hasn’t got a sensible answer for.
How much of this has something to do with motorways where’s it’s dangerous to stop? Kildare has a number of motorways running through it, Donegal has none.
number of motorways? kildare people are just sub-urban snobs….go to donegal you will see how it differs :)
its advised that you dont stop as it could be a sneaky way to rob your car, wallet purse or even worse.
Don’t blame the lads for not wanting to stop for a lone female by themselves, they wouldn’t know what their getting out to!!
totally agree, had an unfortunate incident some years back where I stopped to help a woman who had broken down. her car was generally in pretty bad shape. after a while checking the basics, she tore into me for making it worse. I called the AA and got the hell out of there. never again.
Haha, I’d a similar incident, where I got out to help a woman change her tyre. The spare was one of those “80km max” (skinny) tyres. When I told her she should head straight to a tyre place to get new tyre, she told me to mind my own business. Then I said – well, go easy on it – these tyres are only temporary, so you can’t drive on it too fast or for too long. She told me not to tell her how to drive. As I headed away, she looked at the tyre on the car and accused me of stealing one of her tyres and replacing it with a skinny one of my own!
The Royal county are too Royal and the lilliwhites don’t want to get their sparkly white tops dirty. #UpTheDubs
Good to know its mostly culchies reading the Journal today. Could be because its Sunday,do they open their shops in the boglands of a Sunday yet? #UpTheDubs
Says the ban with his backside as his profile picture! Talking out of it too it seems.
Is that the dubs that are getting played off the pitch by Kildare????
@Alan. Kildare were not afraid to get there White jerseys dirty today when the bet the DUBS 6 Points, Happy days!!!! Come on the Lilliwhites :)
Frankly having seen Kildare drivers in action, they’re the worst I’ve ever seen in the world – and I’ve lived right across the world. I always avoid KE plated transportation!!
In the world ,really ,where in the world have you been that has a better class of driver
Kildare are too busy complaining about that FREE from the Dublin match last year to help anyone out!!!!
Kildare drivers are too busy towing their horse boxes/egos around!!
Kildare people are the best in the world.I should know,I lived in Dublin.Once.
Is it not the job of insurance companies to help stranded drivers, after all that’s why we pay sky high renewals……
I worked in Letterkenny for a while years ago. Donegal drivers and Donegal people in general are, in my view, way friendlier than anywhere else I’ve been.
Kildare are too busy complaining about that FREE from dublin match last year to help anyone out!!!
It may have something to do with the tiny twisting roads in some parts of Co Meath seriously there is no where to pull in on them I drove some of them last week and wondered what would happen if I had a breakdown
Luckily, Donegal has no small twisty roads at all /s
What a load of rubbish. I’m from Kildare but have been living in Dublin for many years. I have had KE and D number plates and had a Longford and Cork one also. To say someone avoids a number plate is a load of bs. Good and bad drivers, helpful and unhelpful drivers in EVERY County. It just happens that Kildare were FAR BETTER footballers in Newbridge today.
Oh well done. Ye won the semi final in the O’BYRNE cup. Wahoo!!!!!
Donegal people are kinda extra nice. No bias here because I am a dub. Worse again a southsider.
Paul Stewart ,what a load of crap your speaking ,you even old enough to drive
25 ..so yes! meh…i don’t talk crap, kildare people are probably still sore about that kevin cassidy point :)
I never could tell I couldn’t afford a translator
Of course, because money talks and bullsh*t walks :-)
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