Cardinal Brady Will Not Resign

The leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland Cardinal Sean Brady has insisted he will not resign after a BBC documentary claimed he failed to act in 1975 to save children from being abused by paedophile priest Fr Brendan Smyth.

The 'This World' programme, which aired on BBC One last night, claimed a Catholic Church inquiry team which included the the Fr Brady failed to pass on allegations of abuse to parents of some of the abused victims.

Cardinal Brady said: "I feel betrayed that those who had the authority in the church to stop Brendan Smyth failed to act on the evidence I gave them. However, I also accept that I was part of an unhelpful culture of deference and silence in society, and the church, which thankfully is now a thing of the past."

Cardinal Brady said the programme set out to "deliberately exaggerate and misrepresent my role in these events".

He continued: "I had absolutely no authority over Brendan Smyth. Even my Bishop had limited authority over him. The only people who had authority within the Church to stop Brendan Smyth from having contact with children were his Abbot in the Monastery in Kilnacrott and his Religious Superiors in the Norbertine Order.

"I trusted that those with the authority to act in relation to Brendan Smyth would treat the evidence seriously and respond appropriately. I had no such authority to act and even by today's guidance from the State I was not the person who had the role of bringing the allegations received to the attention of the civil authorities. I was also acutely aware that I had no authority in Church law in relation to Brendan Smyth or any other aspect of the inquiry process."

(CD/GK)