In 1975 Cardinal Sean Brady (then Father Sean Brady) was part of a process within the Catholic Church which investigated allegations of child sexual abuse against Father Brendan Smyth. Subsequent to this process Father Smyth was allowed to continue in ministry and he went on to abuse many more children. In 1994 he was convicted of sexually abusing children some of whom were abused after that process in 1975 of which Cardinal Brady was part.
In December 2009 when pressure was mounting on other Irish Bishops following publication of the Murphy Report, Cardinal Brady was quite clear that he would resign if it was found that any child had been sexually abused as a result of a failure on his part. The time has now come for Cardinal Brady to own that failure, respect the experiences of those who were abused because of it, and resign.
There will of course be no pressure from Rome on Cardinal Brady to resign, as other revelations in recent days make it clear that the Vatican is now something of a glasshouse.
END 14/03/2010
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