Cardinal apologises to abuse survivors

The Catholic primate of All Ireland, Cardinal Seán Brady, has said it is “a matter of deep shame” that Church leaders did not always respond to the cries for help from clerical abuse victims.

Cardinal Brady, who has faced calls for his resignation over his handling of reports about paedophile priests, issued a renewed apology to survivors as part of the theme of reconciliation at yesterday’s International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin.

In his homily during a Mass in front of several thousand pilgrims at the RDS, Cardinal Brady said Church leaders lamented the burden of painful memories which victims must carry. The cardinal said a piece of Wicklow granite called the Healing Stone, which has been symbolically placed at the heart of the RDS arena, would serve as a reminder of children who were “hurt by a Church that first betrayed their trust and then failed to respond adequately to their pain”.

“May God forgive us for the times when we as individuals and as a Church failed to seek out and care for those little ones who were frightened, alone and in pain because someone was abusing them.”

The cardinal said the stone represented a stark warning to all there could be no “passing by the other side, no room for half-heartedness” in protecting the young and vulnerable.

Dr Brady used the occasion of the Congress to apologise for the time when some clergy had been “blind to your fear, deaf to your cries and silent in response to your pain.”

He prayed for healing and peace for those who continue to suffer. The cardinal also expressed hope that the Congress would result in more enemies and adversaries talking to each other.

Meanwhile, Congress secretary general Fr Kevin Doran said the organisers had received advice that it would be preferable to issue invitations to yesterday’s events on an individual basis to abuse survivors rather than to representatives groups.

Fr Doran said this approach was adopted out of concern that an invitation to survivor groups would be seen as “part of a PR exercise,” while also respecting the privacy of abuse victims. However, he admitted that “only a handful” of survivors had directly approached the organisers about attending the Congress.