Sunday, May 06, 2012

Cardinal Sean Brady vows to remain as former RUC officer says failures let abuse go on

A former RUC officer who was close to the Brendan Smyth investigation has said that the paedophile priest would have been stopped from ruining countless other lives had he been reported to the authorities in 1975. 

Cardinal Sean Brady vowed he would not resign as the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland despite new claims that he failed to act on evidence he obtained about clerical child abuse.

The beleaguered Primate — Ireland’s most senior cleric— remained defiant that he would not step down as church leader after mounting pressure grew following further alleged ‘cover up’ revelations rocked the church.

But Cardinal Brady failed to answer questions about his role in interviews with victims of Smyth, particularly why he did not tell police about his criminal activities.

Dr Brady blamed his then superiors for failing to stop Smyth continuing to abuse children over the next 20 years, adding that he felt “betrayed” by their inaction.

“I reported it to my superior, who then reported it to the superior of the priest in question. I trusted that it would happen,” he said. “We're not hiding behind procedures. There was no desire on my part to cover up, it was to make sure that this abuse stopped.”

Cardinal Brady’s staunch defence came after a BBC documentary said a 14-year-old victim of Smyth warned him in secret interviews in 1975 there were a possible five other victims.

It said Cardinal Brady — then a priest — had been given names and addresses of those being abused by Smyth. He passed the information onto his superiors but not to police or parents.

The senior cleric became visibly flustered when challenged about why he failed to report evidence of child rape to police. Dr Brady admitted there was nothing stopping him from going to civil authorities when he learned of accusations against serial paedophile Fr Brendan Smyth in 1975.

But he refused to take any personal responsibility for the failure, saying it wasn't his place to report the accusations and that he did what he was “sent there to do”.

The former RUC officer said: “It is my view that there were up to 30 victims of Brendan Smyth between 1975 and his arrest in 1991 — and to be honest there could be dozens more that we never ever found out about,” said the officer.

“Predatory paedophiles like Smyth just don't suddenly stop. I have no doubt these victims and God knows how many others would have been saved from the most horrific attacks had Smyth been stopped earlier. The failure of the Catholic Church to deal with this in 1975 is really unforgivable.” 

Asked what he thought the then Fr Brady should have done, he said: “There was a culture of keeping this in the Church back then. But had he called in the police Smyth could have been stopped. He should have told the parents. That's my view but it's not for me to say whether he should resign or not.” 

Dr Brady accused the BBC This World programme entitled The Shame Of The Catholic Church, which raised the new claims, as “exaggerating” his role into the 1970s investigation.

“I did what I thought I should do, namely I took the evidence very carefully I was acting as a note-taker not an investigator as the programme said. And my main concern there was that the abuse would stop. That the abuser would be halted. I had absolutely no authority over Brendan Smyth. Even my bishop had limited authority.” 

He added in a statement: “With others, 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.” 

In a statement the BBC said: “We stand by the programme which accurately and impartially reports its findings.”