18/05/2012

Cardinal Brady Snubbed By Dioceses Priests

The majority of the priests in the diocese of embattled Cardinal Sean Brady have snubbed a meeting organised as a show of support for the leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland.

Just 20 of 150 priests in the Armagh Archdiocese invited to attend a prayer gathering in support of Dr Brady actually showed up -- with many privately voicing concerns about his leadership.

The poor turn-out at the meeting is the most overt response by rank-and-file priests to new allegations surrounding Cardinal Brady's handling of abuse allegations made against notorious paedophile Fr Brendan Smyth.

It follows calls by a number of government ministers for the cardinal to consider his position.

Catholic Church insiders said Dr Brady had been keeping a low profile for the past fortnight after the allegations emerged in a BBC 'This World' documentary.

As well as disquiet over Dr Brady's role in the Smyth affair, other factors also played a part in the poor attendance, according to priests in the diocese.

Priests in Armagh who were contacted complained of low morale.

One said he felt that the poor turnout "was a sign that priests of the diocese are very fed up. Many are just doing their own thing because they think it is rudderless at the top."

A spokesman for Cardinal Brady claimed the poor attendance last Friday week was due to "short notice".

(H)


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