"It's Not Enough"

Cork News
June 15, 2012

http://thecorknews.ie/articles/its-not-enough-6101

Cork victims of Church abuse react to Brady apology

Priests involved in the cover up of clerical child abuse need to be held accountable before apologies are made, according to the director of Cork’s Sexual Violence Centre. As the Catholic Primate of All Ireland Cardinal Sean Brady apologised for the clergy’s failure to respond to victims of child sexual abuse at the International Eucharistic Congress yesterday, Thursday, Mary Crilly said she believed that Church authorities are “still minding themselves”.

“While I welcome the apology, change needs to come from within. They can say sorry for what happened and say that it will never happen again but it's not enough… action is needed,” she told the Cork News. “There are still people out there that aren't being listened to and still don’t see changes. There needs to be real transparency and action taking.”

Ms Crilly stated that this included the resignation of Cardinal Brady, who last month distanced himself from an inquiry into one of the country's most dangerous paedophiles. It was claimed that Dr Brady failed to warn the parents of victims, or the gardai or police after hearing allegations of abuse against Fr Brendan Smyth. However, the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland has continually insisted that responsibility for the scandal does not lie with him.

In a homily at a mass in the RDS yesterday afternoon, Cardinal Brady apologised “for the times when we as individuals and as a Church failed to seek out and care for those little ones who were frightened, alone and in pain because someone was abusing them”. “I want to take this opportunity of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress to apologise for the times when some of us were blind to your fear, deaf to your cries and silent in response to your pain,” he said.

He added that a granite healing stone placed in the arena last Sunday was a reminder of the young people “betrayed” by a Church that “failed to adequately respond to their pain”. Cardinal Brady added that the stone would become a symbol of hope of a Church that learned from past mistakes.