THE Catholic Church is unlikely to employ me as a communications advisor, so this pithy pearl of wisdom is on the house — step away from the microphones, Cardinal Sean Brady.

An American lawyer who was abused by Fr Brendan Smyth has said that the Vatican has “blood on its hands” for its failure to inform Irish Church authorities that it had censured Smyth for abuse in the United States years before the 1975 secret inquiry.

There is a clear public outcry for the resignation of Cardinal Seán Brady, but it may be in the public interest that he has not resigned already, because there are issues involved that should be examined seriously.

One of Fr Brendan Smyth's victims said today that Cardinal Sean Brady is a flawed man for not speaking out in the past against the paedophile priest.