Cardinal Brady Says He Will Not Resign over BBC Allegations

TV3
May 2, 2012

http://www.tv3.ie/article.php?article_id=71730&locID=1.2&pagename=news


Cardinal Sean Brady has hit out at allegations contained in a BBC documentary that he did not do enough to ensure the safety of sexual abuse victims in a 1975 inquiry.

Speaking from his residence in Armagh, the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, described the allegations as "seriously misleading and untrue".

Cardinal Brady accused the programme makers of overstating and seriously misrepresenting his role in the inquiry and denies that he withheld information on the children being abused by the paedophile priest Brendan Smyth.

He said that he passed information about the case at a later stage because he learnt of the information years later - details that he did not know before.

In the documentary, a man who was abused by paedophile priest Fr. Brendan Smyth as a child, claimed he told a church inquiry about other children who were at risk, but the allegations were not acted on.

The programme claimed that the parents of the children at the centre of the new allegations were never informed that they were at risk.

It was also claimed at least one of the boys was abused for a further year.

Two years ago, Cardinal Brady, who was present at the inquiry, claimed he had passed on the evidence in full to his Bishop at the time.

Speaking in response to the allegations, the Catholic Church stated that "no State or church guidelines for responding to allegations of child abuse existed in Ireland" in 1975.

And you can see more of that interview with Cardinal Brady on our website tv3.ie