Notorious Irish pedophile priest should never have been ordained, probe witnesses argue

June 22, 2015

An Irish investigation commission has heard evidence that a notorious pedophile priest may have molested more than 200 children, and that he should never have been ordained, since his misconduct was reported while he was a seminarian.

Brendan Smyth was convicted on over 100 counts of sexual abuse of children, and died in prison in 1997. Revelations about his case—showing that numerous Church officials were aware of the abuse complaints, and continued shuffle him to new clerical assignments—produced a furious backlash against the Catholic Church and calls for the resignation of Cardinal Sean Brady of Armagh, who had been involved in the case as a young priest.

Cardinal Brady—who stepped down last year, having reached ordinary retirement age—is scheduled to testify later this week for the Historical Institutional Abuse probe.

 

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Further information:

• Brendan Smyth may have abused more than 200 children (Irish Times)