Atheist Ireland Forum

'You never got to like it?' The answer to that sinister, suspicious, insinuating, abusive question remains 'No'
By Colum Kenny
Sunday May 06 2012
The manner in which abuse victim Brendan Boland was questioned exposes serious flaws within the church, writes Colum Kenny

'You never got to like it?" That was one of the remarkable questions put to Brendan Boland when he was interrogated by priests in 1975 after reporting to the Catholic Church his sexual abuse at the hands of Fr Brendan Smyth.

"You never got to like it?" The question itself is abusive. It serves no obvious good purpose. I sought an explanation for it last week, but was told only that the entire exercise was intended "to gather evidence against the criminal priest".

A spokesperson for Cardinal Sean Brady, who was present as a priest at that investigation in 1975, told me that Brady "did not construct those questions or ask those questions". But he was there and he signed off on them (as plain "John" and not "Sean" Brady)
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Cardinal keeps excommunication threat hanging over abortion TDs
Brian McDonald – 05 May 2013
The Catholic Church has left the threat of excommunication hanging over the heads of Catholic members of the Dail who vote for the abortion legislation in its current format.
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Asked if a TD who voted for the legislation as published would not automatically be excommunicated and should not therefore present himself/herself for Holy Communion, Archbishop Brady replied: "That is down the line at the moment, as far as we are concerned.

"It (our job) is to convince the electorate first of all and the legislators."

Pressed on the matter, Cardinal Brady pointed out that the exact legislation that would be introduced was not yet known.

"We know what the law is about excommunication, about abortion, that's a fact.

"But, as I say, the most important issue at this moment is to win the hearts and minds of the people of Ireland to decide with the pro-life," the cardinal said.

He described the proposed legislation as morally unacceptable and suggested that it may amount to evil.

Cardinal Brady was responding to a question asking if it was also morally unacceptable for a Catholic legislator to introduce it.

"We're trying to persuade them not to introduce it. In addition to doing good, we also have to oppose evil and to oppose a law that would take away fundamental rights from people. It should be opposed."

The message from yesterday's event in Knock, which was attended by the former Taoiseach John Bruton, was that human life was very precious and that any attempt to destroy human life was unacceptable morally.

Cardinal Brady said: "We are planning to mobilise, in the sense of making people aware of the issues, the very important issues that are at stake in this debate and in that way they would influence those who they can influence, namely the legislators.