IRELAND
Irish Independent
John Cooney
Religious Affairs Correspondent
PILGRIMS are regularly visiting a monastery to pray and lay flowers at the grave of notorious paedophile priest Fr Brendan Smyth.
The prayers are said by devout Catholics from the north west region even though the word 'Rev' was removed from the headstone, the Prior of Kilnacrott Abbey, Gerard Cusack, has revealed.
"There was a request that the word 'Rev' be removed from his headstone," Abbot Cusack said yesterday. "It was erased. It was a corporate decision of our community here at the request of a person."
The removal "brought relief to the person who requested this," the Prior added, saying that the dates of Fr Smyth's birth and his ordination remain on the tombstone.
Abbot Cusack's revelations were made in response to a massive reaction on the local radio station, Shannonside-Northernside, to the Irish Independent's exclusive report that Dana Rosemary Scallon will perform tonight at a fundraising charity in Crover House Hotel in Co Cavan in aid of Kilnacrott Abbey.