Head of Irish Catholic Church says sorry over child abuse cover-up
Head of Catholic Church in Ireland apologises for his part in child sex abuse cover-up
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By DArren Estwick. |  |
Wednesday, 17, Mar 2010 11:53
The head of the Catholic Church in Ireland has said he is "ashamed" for not informing police for his role in an alleged cover-up of child abuse.
Cardinal Sean Brady has said he will reflect on his position in the Irish church and said he wanted to say sorry to "all those who feel I have let them down".
He has faced calls to quit after it emerged he attended meetings in 1975 where children, allegedly abused by a serial paedophile, Father Brendan Smyth, were told to take a vow of silence.
Smyth is believed to have abused hundreds of children over a 40-year period in the Irish church, as well as in Scotland and the United States. He was jailed in the 1990s and died in prison.
In his annual Saint Patrick's Day address in Armagh, Cardinal Brady said: "This week a painful episode from my own past has come before me.
"I want to say to anyone who has been hurt by any failure on my part that I apologise to you with all my heart.
"I also apologise to all those who feel I have let them down.
"Looking back I am ashamed that I have not always upheld the values that I profess and believe in."
Pope Benedict XVI has announced that on Friday he will sign his long awaited pastoral letter dealing with paedophilia in Ireland, saying he hopes it will help with "repentance, healing and renewal". Speaking in English, he said the Irish church had been "severely shaken" as a result of the crisis.