Irish, March 18: The head of the Irish Catholic Church has expressed his apology over the case of sex abuse involving a priest, acknowledging that the Church’s response has been inadequate.
Cardinal Sean Brady, in his annual Saint Patrick’s Day address on Wednesday offered his apology for his role in mishandling the case of a serial child abuser back in 1975.
“I want to say to anyone who has been hurt by any failure on my part that I apologize to you with all my heart,” he said in the address in Armagh, Northern Ireland, according to AFP.
“I also apologize to all those who feel I have let them down. Looking back, I am ashamed that I have not always upheld the values that I profess and believe in.”
Brady has been blasted for attending meetings in 1975 where two alleged victims of Father Brendan Smyth signed an oath of secrecy.
His office has announced that the cardinal had no decision-making power, when asked to investigate two complaints against the now convicted priest.
Brady has been under pressure to resign but he says he will step down only if asked by the Pope.
Pope Benedict XVI and his Roman Catholic Church has been under fire in recent weeks after revelations that the priests in German, Brazilian and Irish churches have abused children in religious schools over decades.
“I think it is a very grave situation for the Catholic Church and I do believe that Cardinal Brady should consider his position,” Martin McGuinness, Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister, told state broadcaster RTE from Washington, where he is spending Saint Patrick’s Day.
Pope says he will send a pastoral letter to the Irish church in the hope of promoting repentance.
——-Agencies