Cardinal Has Blood on His Hands, Ireland Online, March 15, 2010

Cardinal 'Has Blood on His Hands'

Ireland Online
March 15, 2010

[Listen to the interview by Pat Kenny.]

http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/ireland/cardinal-has-blood-on-his-hands-450073.html

IRELAND -- A lawyer abused by notorious paedophile cleric Father Brendan Smyth today accused the head of Ireland's Catholic Church of having blood on his hands.

Helen McGonigle said Cardinal Sean Brady should quit over his handling of allegations against the convicted sex offender 35 years ago.

The American woman was preyed on by Smyth in the 1960s when she was just six years old.

She insisted Dr Brady cannot claim he should not be judged by the actions of 35 years ago by the standards of today.

"It's now and not then. That's absolutely wrong," said Ms McGonigle.

"He's coming to this issue with unclean hands, unclean hands that are borne by the bloodstains of many victims and victims who have committed suicide or attempted to commit suicide."

Ms McGonigle has said she was abused for four years by the evil paedophile when he infiltrated her family while based in east Greenwich, Rhode Island, in the US Diocese of Providence.

Now an attorney with her own practice in Connecticut, she defends victims of sexual abuse and has her own court case pending against the church in Rhode Island.

She accused the church hierarchy of allowing Smyth to travel to Scotland, Wales and the US even though clergy were aware of allegations against him.

Ms McGonigle maintained Cardinal Brady also allowed Smyth's abuse to continues for two decades.

"The only reason he has shown his unclean hands is because he has been pressured to do so by the lawsuit in the High Court," she continued.

"He sat on this information for 35 years regarding Father Brendan Smyth and allowed more children to be abused.

"He has absolutely no excuses for that, none whatsoever, other than he is protecting the hierarchy of the church itself and not protecting children or people."

The lawyer said the Cardinal should also be charged for for obstruction of justice.

"If this is not the obstruction of justice I don't know what is," she said.

"Swearing victims to an oath of secrecy and maintaining secrecy and saying that the canon law supersedes civil law and that we're to maintain a vow of silence while others can be harmed. That cannot be tolerated.

"That's grave injustice."