"Weak and Feeble" Apology from Brady, Says Boland
By Anne Campbell
Brendan Boland, from Marian Park, was a victim of Ireland's most notorious child abuser but bravely spoke out about what happened to him in the early 1970s. However, the then Father Sean Brady was one of the clerics involved in swearing Mr Boland, and another teen, to silence when the victims gave evidence to an investigative panel of priests at the Friary in 1975. Smyth continued to abuse children until he was jailed in 1994. On Thursday last, the former All-Ireland primate Sean Brady told the North's Historical Abuse Inquiry that 'there was a shroud of secrecy and confidentiality with a view not to destroying the good name of the church' and Smyth had committed 'unspeakable' crimes. The Cardinal said: 'The scandal that somebody who was ordained to serve people should so abuse the trust for their own pleasure was appalling and it was. To offset that, the scandal was kept a secret - very, very secret. Everybody involved would be bound to secrecy too'. The evidence from Mr Boland and the other victim was never handed to police, allowing Smyth to continue abusing children. The Cardinal admitted the secret church inquiry would have been intimidating for a 14-year-old and that some of the 30 questions posed were 'inappropriate'. The Cardinal said he was motivated by an anxiety to stop the sex offender but acknowledged that little or no consideration was given to the impact on the victims - instead the focus was on the offending priest. He said: 'I have reflected a lot on this. The reasons for such an inquiry would be to assess the impact of the scandal - the scandal being the unspeakable crime being committed against a minor - was to see how that affected their (Smyth's) own life, a life of faith and morals'. He said he wanted to express his horror and to offer an 'unreserved apology' to all those affected as a result of the crimes of the former priest who is believed to have abused hundreds of children. The cardinal commended the courage of the teenagers who came forward in 1975. The cardinal said: 'Unfortunately the response to his complaint was neither adequate or effective. For this I'm truly sorry'. But the apology means little to Mr Boland. He told the Argus: 'How can Sean Brady turn up to give evidence at the HIA and make a complete U-turn to what he battled against me and other abuse victims for 14 years? 'To me his apology is weak and feeble and a blatant attempt to save his face and that of the Catholic Church. I know that today they are still putting up legal barriers against victims of clerical abuse so how can anybody take his apologies seriously? Retired judge Sir Anthony Hart is leading the HIA inquiry, one of the largest inquiries into physical, sexual and emotional harm to children at homes run by the church, state and voluntary organisations. One week was set aside to deal with the activities of Smyth and to examine whether systemic failings allowed him to get away with his crimes for so long. Instead of reporting him to the civic authorities Smyth was moved between parishes, countries and even continents where he continued to target children. The only sanctions imposed were temporary bans on hearing confessions and celebrating mass. Although he has publicly apologised for the church's mishandling of the sexual deviant, Cardinal Brady has defended his own role in the 1975 internal investigation claiming that, as a priest he had no authority over Smyth. On Wednesday last the inquiry heard that Gardai in Dublin knew about Smyth's paedophilia as far back as 1973. Fr William Fitzgerald, head of the Norbertine order to which Smyth belonged, also told the panel that the priest's poisonous legacy had effectively ruined them. Earlier it was revealed Smyth had told a doctor in 1994 that the number of victims he sexually assaulted could run into the hundreds. Smyth's abuse has already been described by a number of witnesses who have previously given evidence to the inquiry. The latest module has been concentrating on an examination of what opportunities there were to prevent him carrying out the abuse of children and whether any action, or inaction, amounted to systemic failings. The inquiry, which sits in Banbridge, was formally established in January 2013 by the Northern Ireland Executive. Irish Independent
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