Irish Catholic leader offers apology over priest's child abuse

The leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland has apologised to a victim of paedophile priest Fr Brendan Smyth.

Brendan Boland was among those targeted by the predatory sex attacker in 1975.

Irish Primate Cardinal Sean Brady said he had no intention of resigning, despite pressure from those who believe he did not do enough, as a junior cleric, once concerns about Fr Smyth were raised with him.

Dr Brady said there had also been "many many calls from people who want me to stay on".

A BBC documentary has uncovered new revelations about an internal church investigation into clerical child sex abuse in 1975.

It said a teenage boy who had been sexually abused by Fr Brendan Smyth gave the names and addresses of other children who were at risk from the paedophile priest to Cardinal Brady, then a 36-year-old priest.

He passed the allegations to his superiors but did not inform police or the children's parents.

Fr Smyth continued to sexually assault one of the boys for a year after that. He also abused the boy's sister for seven years, and four of his cousins, up until 1988.

Dr Brady said he now realised that the parents of children who were being abused by Brendan Smyth should have been informed about the allegations of abuse being made against him. "Definitely the parents should have been informed," he told RTE last night.

PA