NORTHERN IRELAND
UTV
Story by Chris Chambers @chris_utv
The comment was said to have been made by Smyth to a doctor in 1994, the year he was jailed for his crimes.
Joseph Aiken, counsel to the Historical Abuse Inquiry (HIA), said the priest admitted: “Over the years of religious life it could be that I have sexually abused 50 to 100 children – that number could even be doubled or perhaps even more.”
The latest module of long-running inquiry began on Monday and is focusing on how Smyth, who was eventually convicted of more than 100 child abuse charges over a 40-year period, got away with his crimes for so long.
It is looking at whether any steps taken or not taken to deal with him amount to systemic failings, and is expected to last a week.
Smyth was at the centre of one of the first clerical child sex abuse scandals to rock the Catholic Church in Ireland.
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