Cardinal Sean Brady should resign!

[alexis]

Did anyone watch the documentary on BBC1 last night. In which it was shown that in 1975 Cardinal Brady was a priest involved in the investigating of abuse by paedophile Father Brendan Smyth? Cardinal Brady was was then a young priest who was investingating the claims of abuse. He interviewd a 14 year old boy who had went to another priest and told him that he was being abused. The boy also gave the names and adresses of other children all over Ireland who were being abused by Bendan Smyth on his "little trips" with children. Detailed horrible accounts of sexual abuse. Brady along with other senior priests did nothing to protect the children mentioned. They made the children sign a document in which they said they would never discuss again what had been said with anyone other than the priests at the interview. The Church made them swear this and sign documents, there were canon lawyers present. The parents were never told. And Father Brendan smyth went on abusing the boy for another year. Then young his sister was abused for 7 years and even cousins of the boy were abused up untill 1988.

Smyth after the allegations was reprimanded by? Not being allowed to hear confessions! WTF???
He went through the 70s and 80s as a practising priest moving around the country abusing children.
Now Cardinal Brady is on record filmed as saying that if ever he felt that he was in a position to help a child and he didn't he would resign. If any parent had a child come to them and say that they were being abused I know that the parent would do what ever it took to stop that abuse and to have who ever did it held accountable. Any normal person would do whatever they could to stop it! He kept quiet and he continued to rise up the hierarchy of the Church knowing of all the horrors that were going on. Therefore he is a liar, a sinner and fraud.
He should resign.

But the church is playing the blame game. Passing on the blame to others, probably so they can place it on the heads of already long dead senior priests. Fact is all the way up to the Pope the Church knew children were being sexually abused. And they did not go to police and have it stopped. Something any true christian would do. They put the importance of the brand of the guilded catholic Church before the suffering of children!
They abused their power.

[fireweaver]

The church is corrupt to the core. Although I am not sure it can ever be "rehabilitated", there are certain actions the catholic church could take that MIGHT help it restore some of its "good name". Keep in mind that people are leaving the church in droves.

Note: When I say "priests", I mean ANY church official who has access to children.

[1] First and foremost, stop shuffling priests around. The moment someone makes a complaint against a priest, turn the entire matter over to the police immediately if not sooner.
[2] Complete background checks and in-depth psychological evaluation of wannabe priests. These background checks would include a comprehensive analysis of the applicant's family history (abuse, etc). I think this should be done for clergy of all religions, not just catholics. The (whichever) church gets to pay for this.
[3] To forestall further scandal, the background checks would be carried out by NON-catholics. (In more general terms, the investigations should be carried out by people who do not belong to the religion of the priestly applicant.)
[4] There used to be a time when priests could marry. Priests should be allowed to marry.
[5] Demand that the church turn over ALL of its records regarding priestly sexual misbehaviour regarding children going back, say, eighty years. (this should ensnare the retired preachers that got away with it when they were younger.)
[6] Periodic evaluations of all priests per [2].
[7] If a priest must interact with children for any reason at all, said interaction should be supervised at all times. (This is really a good idea for ALL non-parental interaction with children. Classroom teachers get caught up in this kind of thing from time to time as well.)
[8] The church should drop its veil of secrecy. The big secret is already out -- that the church is a corrupt organisation only interested in its own power, wealth, and well-being.

Feel free to add anything else that might rein in the church.

[Swami]

I can't see how he can stay in position for much longer.

Swami

[Sarah]

PK did a sketch saying how Ireland is the only country in the world that can get away with calling child abuse, 'fiddlin'.

[fireweaver]

Who is PK?

[Swami]

Patrick Kielty, presumably?

Swami

[CarlD]

The priests punishment of "not being allowed to hear confessions" is indeed a joke.

GOD is the only one who can forgive (according to the Bible), which makes the whole man made-up catholic confession , an even bigger laugh.

[adora]

there is no dout he should resign and should have done so when it came out last year he got victims of child abuse to sign confidentiality agreements. his position is long past sustainable and he is doing damage to the church staying on.

[alexis]

The Church is finished. And it is finished because it has not moved forward. It has tried to make us believe that its perfect that there is no need at all for change of any sort. Well if something does not grow... It dies!

[fireweaver]

Good god damned riddance!

[CarlD]

I find it interesting how some are under the false impression that Catholicism "THE" church, like it's the ONLY religion that matters, and like it's the "official" religion of God.

[anndra_w]

I find it interesting how some are under the false impression that Catholicism "THE" church, like it's the ONLY religion that matters, and like it's the "official" religion of God.

Is it not a part of Roman Catholicism that it is the true Church and Faith? At one time we were all part of the Catholic Church. Whether any of the different branches of Christianity are more or less valid than the other is open to debate. If I'm talking about "The Church" it's the Kirk I'm talking about, the Church of Scotland because that is the Church I was raised in. I've got Catholic family the refer to the Church and mean the RC Church. In England it is the CoE. It doesn't really mean folk are saying that there's is the only Church, although I'm sure some in the Church of Scotland would be the first to say the reformed Churches are more true than the Catholic Church and vice versa. If people want to believe there's is the only official or true version of Christianity then that is up to them.

[McGarrett .]

I find it interesting how some are under the false impression that Catholicism "THE" church, like it's the ONLY religion that matters, and like it's the "official" religion of God.

as if God is a brand... "Nathan's" is the official hot dog of the "New York Mets"~~