Brady under pressure to resign over Smyth claims

THE future of Cardinal Seán Brady as head of the Irish Catholic Church is in doubt amid mounting calls for his resignation after allegations that he was involved in a cover-up of abuse by notorious paedophile priest Fr Brendan Smyth.

However, Cardinal Brady has indicated he has no intention of resigning despite an admission that he attended two meetings in 1975 at which two victims of the deceased priest were forced to sign an oath of silence about the alleged abuse.

The cardinal said he believed the account of the victims and had passed on the information about the abuse to his immediate superior. He also pointed out that there were no guidelines for dealing with such investigations at that time and the responsibility for Fr Smyth rested with his religious order.