NORTHERN IRELAND
The Times
Aaron Rogan
January 21 2017
The Times
The crimes of Brendan Smyth, the paedophile priest, were ignored to protect the good name of the Catholic Church, a Northern Ireland inquiry into historical abuse has found.
The Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) inquiry detailed instances of sexual abuse by priests and lay people in a 2,300-page report published yesterday that identified widespread systemic failings and extended responsibility to the Northern Irish government and church authorities.
It said that Smyth attacked children “far and wide” at residential homes in Northern Ireland from the 1940s and was eventually convicted of more than 100 offences.
He was allowed a car to travel around the country when he fled to the Republic after he was charged by police in Northern Ireland in 1991, and over many years his Norbertine religious order and others within the church failed to ensure he did not harm more children, the inquiry found.
A deliberate decision was taken to withhold information about Smyth when he was sent to other church dioceses around the world and he was given medical treatment as a “cure” despite continuing to attack minors, it said.
“For the Norbertine order and for others outside the order in positions of responsibility in the church, their overriding priority throughout was to protect the good name of the church and at all times to prioritise Father Smyth’s interests, instead of doing what was best for the children abused by him,” it said.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.