Did you read the full text of Cardinal Sean Brady's defence of his position regarding his role in the investigation of Brendan Smyth's appalling record of child sex abuse? 'Only a note taker,' 'no authority over (Fr) Smyth. It all smacks of the pathetic excuses proferred by Nazi party functionaries at the Nurembourg war crime trials. 'I was only following orders,' was a popular refrain back then.
Cardinal Brady had direct knowledge of Smyth's criminal activities and abuse of children. He spoke to his victims and was given the names and addresses of many more. Smyth went on to continue his abuse, north and south of the border and even, for a while, in the United States.
Yet, despite having this knowledge, Brady hides behind lame excuses such as Canon Law, 'those were different times,' 'I was only a note taker,' and he had no power over Brendan Smyth.
Well, excuse me, Cardinal, but as I read it, you had first hand knowledge of a criminal activity and failed to bring it to the attention of the proper authorities. That makes you complicit in the same crime, as far as I can see.
And then there's the victim who did come forward and was put through the most appalling interrogation by the 'note taker' and his accomplices. How dare they put a frightened 14 year old through such an ordeal?
Those were different times, it's true. My father once told me about the first time he encountered the parish priest of a country town where he had just begun to work. The priest backed him up against a wall with his walking stick and demanded to know who he was? If a priest tried that today, he'd have the stick broken across his own back.
There was too much deference shown to the clergy in those days which allowed people like Smyth to abuse their position and the vulnerable under their care. The church's actions in the past usually involved keeping the offending cleric offside and out of the public eye. More often than not, they simply shunted them off to another parish where they'd continue their abusive practices until they were moved on, yet again.
The Nazis kept meticulous records when they filled their death trains with the Jews of Europe and then those 'note takers' had the audacity to claim they hadn't committed any crime but were simply 'following orders.'
If you were aware of a heinous crime like the abuse of children and did nothing to stop it or have the perpetrators and their criminal activities exposed to the civil authorities, the very least you should do is have the moral fibre to admit your mistake and resign your post as this nation's Catholic primate. You lead no-one. Your office is a puff of smoke.
Cardinal Brady had direct knowledge of Smyth's criminal activities and abuse of children. He spoke to his victims and was given the names and addresses of many more. Smyth went on to continue his abuse, north and south of the border and even, for a while, in the United States.
Yet, despite having this knowledge, Brady hides behind lame excuses such as Canon Law, 'those were different times,' 'I was only a note taker,' and he had no power over Brendan Smyth.
Well, excuse me, Cardinal, but as I read it, you had first hand knowledge of a criminal activity and failed to bring it to the attention of the proper authorities. That makes you complicit in the same crime, as far as I can see.
And then there's the victim who did come forward and was put through the most appalling interrogation by the 'note taker' and his accomplices. How dare they put a frightened 14 year old through such an ordeal?
Those were different times, it's true. My father once told me about the first time he encountered the parish priest of a country town where he had just begun to work. The priest backed him up against a wall with his walking stick and demanded to know who he was? If a priest tried that today, he'd have the stick broken across his own back.
There was too much deference shown to the clergy in those days which allowed people like Smyth to abuse their position and the vulnerable under their care. The church's actions in the past usually involved keeping the offending cleric offside and out of the public eye. More often than not, they simply shunted them off to another parish where they'd continue their abusive practices until they were moved on, yet again.
The Nazis kept meticulous records when they filled their death trains with the Jews of Europe and then those 'note takers' had the audacity to claim they hadn't committed any crime but were simply 'following orders.'
If you were aware of a heinous crime like the abuse of children and did nothing to stop it or have the perpetrators and their criminal activities exposed to the civil authorities, the very least you should do is have the moral fibre to admit your mistake and resign your post as this nation's Catholic primate. You lead no-one. Your office is a puff of smoke.
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