Brendan Smyth: I have been at peace with God

Paedophile priest Fr Brendan Smyth found peace with god, an inquiry has been told. In a letter written in 1995 after his conviction for sexually assaulting more than 40 children in the North, the west Belfast-born priest said he hoped his victims could also find solace. He had lashed out at the media for adding to their distress.

Smyth, who died in jail in 1997, wrote: “I have welcomed the prison sentences imposed by the courts as a fitting means of paying my debt to society.

“I would like to take this opportunity to express my deep sorrow to anyone who has in any way suffered as a result of my actions and also to those relatives, friends and members of my religious community who suffered because of the media treatment of these matters for a long time now.