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	Brookfield Abuse Victim Calls for Brady's Resignation in Irish Media By Vinti Singh News Times March 16, 2010 http://www.newstimes.com/local/article/Brookfield-abuse-victim-calls-for-Brady-s-409463.php BROOKFIELD -- A Brookfield lawyer who was abused as a child by priest Brendan Smyth will share her story with the nation Wednesday night on CNN. Helen McGonigle was interviewed by CNN Special Investigation Unit's Drew Griffin about what it is like to be the victim of abuse. Her interview airs at 8 p.m. In February, Griffin reported how the Irish Catholic church sent clerics to the U.S. knowing they were pedophiles, and how the leaders of the church continue to cover up the priests' crimes. McGonigle has also been interviewed by a number of media outlets in Ireland because she is calling for the resignation of Cardinal Sean Brady, who in 1975 interviewed two children who were abused by Smyth and had them sign an oath that they would not tell anyone outside the church what had happened. Smyth continued to molest children until 1994, until British authorities demanded his arrest. He died in prison a few years later. Smyth is believed to have abused hundreds of children. Brady, "sat on this (testimony) and never reported it to authorities," McGonigle said. Brady admitted Sunday to sitting in on the hearing of the children's testimony where they were forced to take an oath of secrecy. McGonigle spoke on RTE Radio's Pat Kenny Show, a popular broadcast program in Ireland, Monday morning. She had another interview Tuesday, which was going to be aired in prime time later that night. The 48-year-old called for Brady's resignation. "Everybody that harbored a criminal within the Roman Catholic church needs to go and the Vatican must renounce its 1962 Confidential Directive on Crimes of Solicitation that mandated that these cases be kept secret under penalty of excommunication," McGonigle said in an interview with The News-Times on Tuesday. "That's what these kids were sworn to. That is insanity. It has to be renounced." McGonigle is also advocating that the Brendan Smyth file at the Vatican be reopened so that the public can find out which clerics participated in the cover-up. "Ireland, in many ways, has been more progressive than the U.S." in dealing with the Catholic church official's criminal abuse, McGonigle said. "The population is 95 percent Catholic. This is huge for them over there and they are outraged." The Irish government conducted two studies that are highly critical of the church's willingness to place the brotherhood of the priests above children's safety. "That's what were asking the U.S. to do," McGonigle said. McGonigle recently traveled to Boston with Jeff Thomas, another abuse victim who has spoken publicly about his experiences. They called upon Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown to conduct a similar investigation. McGonigle was abused by Smyth when she was 6 at her family's parish in the 1960s. Her brother and sister died in the past few years of drug overdoses. McGonigle believes her sister was depressed because she was also abused, and her brother was depressed from the guilt of not being able to help her family. McGonigle practices law in Brookfield. Contact Vinti Singh at vsingh@newstimes.com or 203-731-3331.
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