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	Connections between Us, Irish Priest Abuse Cases Sought By Meghan Irons Boston Globe December 28, 2009 http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/12/connections_bet.html They came with a list of names: All are priests. All have ties to Ireland. All are accused of sexually abusing children in the United States. A Waltham-based group that has been chronicling the US clergy sex scandal unveiled today the names of 60 to 70 accused priests it says were either born in Ireland or are of Irish descent who came to the United States and re-offended. The group, BishopAccountability.org, demanded that Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley of Boston and Bishop Thomas J. Tobin of Providence to comb the records of their dioceses and make public the names of any credibly accused Irish priests who have worked there. By revealing the names, the group said it hopes to highlight the issue of immigrant Irish priests who are known pedophiles and whose past histories of alleged abuse have long been "outsourced" to the United States. BishopAccountability.org. has compiled a database of 3,000 names of accused priests and said about one third of them have links to Ireland, which is reeling from revelations of a decades-long cover-up of abuse in the Dublin archdiocese. Four Irish priests resigned this month as news unfolded. "Bishops [in Ireland] just like bishops here have been moving accused priests around even though they know they are dangerous ...,'' said Terence McKiernan, founder of BishopAccountability.org. "Unfortunately the places where they put them include our own backyard. So the Irish crisis, basically has become our crisis, too." Standing before the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, O'Malley's residence, members and supporters of members of BishopAccountablity.org said the Irish scandal is deeply linked to the US crisis because priests trained in Irish seminaries are systematically sent to serve in America, including ones with long histories of abuse. They also called on the Ireland's Prime Minister Brian Cowen to recognize his country's responsibility to inform the American public of all child-molesting clergy from Irish diocese and religious orders who have immigrated to the US diocese. In a statement this afternoon, the Boston Archdiocese said it remains committed to doing "everything in our power to protect children from the threat of sexual abuse." It said news from Ireland serves as a painful reminder to survivors. "Our hearts and prayers go out to those in Ireland who have been harmed by the tragic reality of sexual abuse of children by clergy,'' the statement said. "We know from our own experience the profound impact and suffering caused by the harm perpetrated on children and young people. Over the past decade, we have worked diligently to respond to this crisis and ensure it is never repeated." The Providence archdiocese did not respond to two calls seeking comment. At today's press conference, Helen L. McGonigle, a lawyer from Connecticut, held a picture of herself at age 6 -- her sharply cut bangs revealing a child's smile and innocent eyes. McGonigle said she was 6 when she was abused by a priest named Brendan Smyth, who left a trail of abuse in Britain and Ireland before he came to work in East Greenwich, R.I. Smith died in an Irish prison in 1997 shortly after pleading guilty to 74 counts of sexually abusing 20 Irish boys and girls between 1958-1993. "We know it was problem in the Diocese of Providence having this Irish priest who was a known pedophile," said McGonigle, now 48. "This is a classic example of an organization that doesn't give a hoot about protecting children." Jeffrey Thomas said today that he also had been abused by Smyth. Thomas sued the Providence Superior Court against the Diocese of Providence and others, after alleging that he was abused by Smyth at an East Greenwich, R.I., parish school. "I am a survivor of clergy abuse,'' he said outside the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. "The bigger crime to me is that [Smyth's] superiors knew about his appetite and his sexual desires, and still put him in populations with small children to re-offend.'' Also named on the list are the Rev. Joseph Maguire, who served in Waltham, and died in prison in 2005 while serving a 44 year sentence for abusing three boys.
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