NORTHERN IRELAND
The Irish Times
GERRY MORIARTY Northern Editor, in Armagh
“THERE IS too much Churchianity in the Catholic Church and not enough Christianity,” said Mary O Vallely outside St Patrick’s Cathedral in Armagh as Mass-goers left 11.30am Mass yesterday.
There was no sign of Catholic Primate of All Ireland Cardinal Seán Brady at either of the two morning Masses in the cathedral, 9am or 11.30am. The chief celebrant for the later Mass was the cathedral’s administrator, Fr Eugene Sweeney.
A spokesman for the cardinal said he was in the diocese and had celebrated Mass yesterday, although he did not know where.
Fr Sweeney made no reference to the controversy surrounding Cardinal Brady to the hundreds of people in the cathedral, except obliquely during the prayers of the faithful when he prayed for all those who were anxious and hurt at the “legacy” of the clerical child sex abuse scandals.
There were mixed views among the faithful outside the cathedral. Some would not offer any comments apart from criticising the media for covering the issue. Others felt he had failed children who were abused by paedophile priest Brendan Smyth, while others again felt fault lay not with him but with superiors to whom he reported the abuse in 1975.
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