WHY would the future Cardinal Seán Brady ask an eight-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy to swear on oath that they would not divulge that Fr Brendan Smyth had sexually abused them? The main aim was certainly not to protect other boys from that predator. Fr Brady was apparently more interested in protecting the Catholic Church as an institution from criticism.

CATHOLICS were not encouraged to read the bible in this country, apparently because the hierarchy could not trust them to interpret it properly. It was symptomatic of a rather cavalier attitude towards education.