Irish cardinal admits inquiries into child rapist priest were only to protect church

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jun/25/irish-cardinal-admits-inquiries-into-child-rapist-priest-were-only-to-protect-church



Seán Brady tells historical abuse inquiry in Northern Ireland that Catholic clerics kept investigations into Brendan Smyth secret to protect church’s ‘good name’

Irish cardinal admits inquiries into child rapist priest were only to protect church
Henry McDonald Ireland correspondent
Thursday 25 June 2015 11.17 EDT

Senior figures in Ireland’s Catholic church set up inquiries into historical sexual abuse by solely to protect the church from scandal, the former leader of Ireland’s Catholics has admitted.

Dr Seán Brady, the former primate of All Ireland, told an inquiry into historical abuse on Thursday that he and other Catholic clerics were sworn to secrecy about these tribunals so that the “good name” of the church could be protected.

Brady was giving evidence on Thursday at the historical abuse inquiry in Northern Ireland, a wideranging investigation into the abuse of children at state and church-run care homes and other institutions across the region.

The retired cleric’s evidence focused on the scandal surrounding Father Brendan Smyth, a serial child rapist who continued to abuse for decades after the church first learned that he was a paedophile.

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Boston Cardinal Bernie Law escaped to the Vatican when his role in the Boston pedophile scandal was unraveling.