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	Confirmed: Priests Accused of Abuse in Ireland Spent Time in Boston NECN January 28, 2010 http://www.necn.com/pages/landing?blockID=170489 [with video] (NECN: Ally Donnelly, Boston, Mass.) - Officials with the Boston Archdiocese say three Irish priests accused of sexually abusing children had served within the Archdiocese. Victims advocates say the church is not living up to its promise to be more transparent. Helen McGonigle can't help but get emotional when she talks about the sexual abuse she says she suffered at the hands of convicted pedophile priest Brendan Smyth. The Connecticut lawyer says it happened when she was a first grader at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic School in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. "He told me his finger was the finger of God and if I told anybody about what happened I'd end up like the body in the woods." Victims advocates say Smyth is just one of many pedophile priests from Ireland who sought sanctuary in the United States. Last year, the Irish government released a report detailing wide spread abuse of children. After returning to his home country, Smyth eventually pled guilty to nearly 100 counts of sexual abuse of dozens of Irish children. He died in prison shortly after his conviction in 1997. "This isn't an Irish problem, this isn't a Boston problem, this is a global problem in a highly mobile church." Terry McKiernan is with the research group bishop accountability dot org. After the Irish report came out, the group found that 70 accused Irish priests had spent time in the United States. The Boston Archdiocese never before has admitted any ties to the Irish scandal, but this week revealed that three accused priests did indeed spend time within the archdiocese, and they are investigating a fourth accused of molesting a child in the U.S. 30 years ago. McKiernan is disappointed the archdiocese wasn't more forthcoming. "Unfortunately where priests are moved around when bad things are discovered about them, we really need to have the whole story." The three priests include: Smyth who the archdiocese gave permission to do mission work at St. Camillus in Arlington for two days in 1991. Joseph Maguire who was allowed to minister at the Espousal Center in Waltham from 1981 to 1985 and Dennis Murphy given permission to spend several months at St. Cecilia's in Boston in 1996 and 1997. In a statement, the archdiocese says it was unaware of any allegations of abuse at the time: "We know from our own experience the profound impact and suffering caused by the harm perpetrated on children and young people. Over the past decade, we have worked diligently to respond to this crisis and ensure it is never repeated." At the bishops' conference in 2002, church leaders agreed to be more transparent. Those who made the pledge included then Archbishop Sean O'Malley Anne Hagan Webb: "This archbishop is exceptionally silent. This Archbishop is exceptional in the degree to which he holds information the public deserves to know." The group is also pressing attorney general Martha Coakley to pursue criminal charges against the former priests.
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