Dublin's Archbishop Martin Intervenes in Dramatic Crisis of Irish Church
By Gerard O'Connell
Diarmuid Martin has called for an independent commission to investigate the case of Father Brendan Smyth who abused more than 100 children over 40 years. Top politicians have called for Cardinal Brady's resignation because of his involvement in this case As the dramatic crisis in the Irish Catholic Church deepened with calls for Cardinal Brady's resignation over his role in an inquiry into the abuse of children by the notorious pedophile priest - Fr Brendan Smyth, the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin has called for the setting up of "an independent commission of investigation" into the abuse of children by that priest as the best way to arrive at the whole truth. Archbishop Martin made his proposal when responding to questions from journalists on the crisis after celebrating Mass at St. Francis Xavier church in Dublin, Sunday, May 6. Hours later, a spokesman for Cardinal Brady said he "welcomed and supported" the proposal. "I really believe that we need an independent Commission of investigation into the activities of Brendan Smyth and how he was allowed to abuse for so many years," Archbishop Martin stated. He was referring to the fact that Fr. Smyth (1927-97), a member of the Norbertine order, is alleged to have abused more than 100 children in Ireland and others in the USA, over a forty-year period, and Church authorities failed to stop him. He said the Commission should look "North and South", and at "Church and State" in the whole island. Such an inquiry "is owed to the victims" and "is also in the public interest", he stated; it would enable the whole truth to come out "and not the bits and pieces" that "an investigative journalist or diocesan investigation" might bring out. Such a Commission "is necessary", he explained to Vatican Insider, because the Smyth story "is of such a dimension, and the man did so much harm to people that I believe we're never going to get the full story until we have an independent commission that has powers to get access to the information from Church and State as the Murphy Commission (for Dublin Archdiocese) had." He said the proposal is in line with what Pope Benedict advocated in his address to the Irish Bishops on 28 October 2006 when, speaking of the sexual abuse of minors by clerics, he told them: "in your continuing efforts to deal effectively with this problem, it is important to establish the truth of what happened in the past." Fr. Smyth's case already led to the collapse the Irish Government in 1994, and could lead to Cardinal Brady's resignation. As a young priest, serving on a Church Inquiry that interviewed a 14 year old boy abused by Smyth, the future cardinal learned the names of other boys and girls whom the priest was abusing. After interviewing a second boy, Brady reported to his bishop but never informed the children's parents and Smyth continued to abuse them for 13 more years. People in Ireland are very angry that Brady did not inform the children's parents, and top politicians have called for his resignation. Asked whether he thought Cardinal Brady should resign, Martin told The Irish Times: "I don't known enough to respond to this. I don't know what his relation with his bishop was, or what his bishop did. Looking back at the Dublin inquiry I've seen that these are complex questions and I wouldn't like to judge a person on things that I don't know." "Moreover", he said, "I have never called for anybody's resignation. I have never done that. Everybody has to make their own decisions." Asked about the silencing or censuring of several Irish priests by the Vatican in recent times, Archbishop Martin said he believed the best way to deal with such cases was to address them first in Ireland. "I think the Theological Commission of the Irish bishops has not been carrying out its function as in other countries where this dialogue would take place as a first stage and then be resolved without it necessarily being dealt with from Rome directly," he said. "I would have preferred that these matters be dealt with in a dialogue…in a robust dialogue within the Irish church", he stated. Earlier, preaching at St Francis Xavier church, he said the Irish Church was going through "a challenging and difficult period". While "great things" are happening in parishes countrywide, there are also "unhealthy divisions" within the Church which is "called to be a sign of unity". Christians "must learn to resolve their divisions according to the indications of the Gospel", he said; "In debate within the Church the truth must always be spoken in love", there is "no need for negative polemics." Indeed, "the first premise of any reform and renewal in the Church" is to realize that being a Christian means "establishing a real personal relationship with Jesus Christ", he stated. In this context, he said he was "saddened by some comments made in the public arena about Pope Benedict, as if all he did as Pope was somehow suppressing the truth". There is "no mention" of the fact that Pope Benedict has written "two extraordinary and striking books on Jesus Christ, witnessing to all of us and challenging us to get to know Jesus in a deeper way," he said. He concluded by saying history has shown that "renewal within the Church has been spurred on by men and women who passionately endeavored to know Jesus and to follow him in truth and love."
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