Dublin Archbishop calls for inquiry into the Brendan Smyth affair

Friday, May 11th, 2012

With controversy still raging over the role of Cardinal Brady in the Brendan Smyth affair, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has called for an independent commission of inquiry into Smyth’s offending and the circumstances around it.

Archbishop Martin said “I know it’s not fashionable today to talk about Commissions but I do really believe that an independent Commission of investigation into the activities of Brendan Smyth, as to how he was allowed to abuse for so many years,” should be set up.

It would look “north and south” at “ church and state.” He felt this would be in the public interest so that the full story would be told “and not the bits and pieces which either an investigative journalist or diocesan investigation,” would uncover.

That Fr Smyth was allowed to hear confessions in the Kilmore Diocese from 1984, the Archbishop commented, “I find it very hard to justify, but I believe that the only way we’ll really get to understand that is if we have one global independent investigation…I believe that until all of this story in its entirety comes out we are not doing justice to those who were abused and we’re not really getting at the truth…”

Concerning Cardinal Brady’s role as a notary in the initial investigation into Smyth in 1975, he said “I don’t know what the relationship between him (Brady) and the bishop was. I don’t know what the bishop did (or) what he knew the bishop did. Looking back at the Dublin inquiry I’ve seen that these are complex questions and I wouldn’t like to judge a person on things that I don’t know…..it’d be unfair of me to make that judgement.”

Cardinal Seán Brady has welcomed the call for an independent inquiry into Fr Brendan Smyth’s abuse of children in Ireland and elsewhere over a 40-year period.

A spokesman for the cardinal said that he “welcomed and supported” the proposal made by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin.

Full Story Irish Times

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