0:00:09 > 0:00:11Ireland's attachment to the Catholic Church
0:00:11 > 0:00:13is straining to breaking point.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21The secret crimes of Irish priests against children
0:00:21 > 0:00:24have collapsed the Church's moral authority.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28I should be out playing with other ten-year-olds, but I wasn't.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32I was being taken down to the beach and raped.
0:00:33 > 0:00:37Once the bastion of Catholicism on the edge of Europe,
0:00:37 > 0:00:40successive state inquiries on clerical abuse
0:00:40 > 0:00:44have revealed ugly secrets and left the Church reeling.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48I don't know of any other situation that I'm aware of
0:00:48 > 0:00:51where the clerical establishment has disintegrated
0:00:51 > 0:00:55as quickly and as dramatically and as comprehensively as it has in Ireland.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59The clerical abuse scandal is far from ended
0:00:59 > 0:01:02and it goes to the very top of the Catholic Church in Ireland.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06I am 100% certain, I've got absolutely no doubt in my mind,
0:01:06 > 0:01:09I gave them the names and addresses of those children.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12You know that children were abused because you failed...
0:01:12 > 0:01:15in part, because you failed to protect them.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18No. I did what I was there to do.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22The Irish Catholic Church once had unquestioned authority.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24Not any more.
0:01:24 > 0:01:25It came in about two or three years,
0:01:25 > 0:01:30where the entire business of the Church's power over our lives
0:01:30 > 0:01:35in the Republic of Ireland simply went down and stayed down,
0:01:35 > 0:01:38and it looks as though it cannot rise.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52The official end of Holy Roman Catholic Ireland
0:01:52 > 0:01:57came last summer with an extraordinary speech by the Irish Prime Minister.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00The rape and the torture of children were downplayed,
0:02:00 > 0:02:03or managed, to uphold, instead,
0:02:03 > 0:02:06the primacy of the institution - its power,
0:02:06 > 0:02:09its standing and its reputation.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14That landmark speech from a leader rooted in rural Catholic Ireland
0:02:14 > 0:02:19drew on the anger and frustration of the Irish public.
0:02:19 > 0:02:24I'm in Donegal, in the very northwest of Ireland.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28It has the highest rate of allegations of clerical abuse in the country.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35The Church is set to publish its own report about abuse
0:02:35 > 0:02:38here in the local Raphoe diocese.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41It hopes it will help to restore its reputation.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51Convicted rapist Father Eugene Greene attacked children here
0:02:51 > 0:02:53and in other parts of the county for decades,
0:02:53 > 0:02:57often in the most remote and beautiful places.
0:03:00 > 0:03:05It's known the rapist was reported to his superiors many years ago but,
0:03:05 > 0:03:09until now, bishops have insisted there's no evidence of this.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26No-one knows more about Father Eugene Greene,
0:03:26 > 0:03:31and how the Church handled him, than retired detective Martin Ridge.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35He spent two years investigating the crimes of Ireland's most prolific child rapist.
0:03:40 > 0:03:45We're crossing to Inishbofin Island, a mile off the Donegal coast.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47No place was safe for children here.
0:03:51 > 0:03:56The most beautiful, idyllic place you could imagine to live,
0:03:56 > 0:03:59where innocence collided with evil.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03It seemed that the wolves were protected,
0:04:03 > 0:04:06and the innocence of children, the little lambs, weren't.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10I don't believe a week went by
0:04:10 > 0:04:14in West Donegal where you hadn't a child
0:04:14 > 0:04:17or a number of children sexually abused.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19It's horrendous.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24Anywhere you look around here, which is so hard to fathom -
0:04:24 > 0:04:29by roads, side roads, in churches, schools...
0:04:29 > 0:04:33The abuse here was something unbelievable.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35Unbelievable!
0:04:35 > 0:04:39And the fact that nobody in the public spoke out about this,
0:04:39 > 0:04:42after the total carnage here...
0:04:58 > 0:05:00What happened here?
0:05:00 > 0:05:03There's a little compartment just behind here, Darragh,
0:05:03 > 0:05:08just behind this very altar, which was set up in the event
0:05:08 > 0:05:12of a priest being stuck on the island due to bad weather, you know?
0:05:13 > 0:05:15And unfortunately,
0:05:15 > 0:05:19Father Eugene Greene led some very young boys up here...
0:05:22 > 0:05:24..and abused them,
0:05:24 > 0:05:28raped them horrifically, just behind this altar here.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31Behind the wall, basically.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34Of course, he was abused time and time again, the same boy,
0:05:34 > 0:05:37but some of the abuse happened here.
0:05:42 > 0:05:43The police investigation,
0:05:43 > 0:05:48which ended with Father Eugene Greene being jailed in 2000,
0:05:48 > 0:05:51found evidence the priest's crimes were covered up,
0:05:51 > 0:05:54something always denied by the Church,
0:05:54 > 0:05:57which says there's no documentary proof.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11What do you expect from the Raphoe report in a couple of days' time?
0:06:11 > 0:06:15- Any revelations? - Well, it's hard to see.
0:06:15 > 0:06:20I mean, the review itself will show what was on the files,
0:06:20 > 0:06:23what was written down.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27Will it be enough to convince us that all the truth is written down?
0:06:27 > 0:06:32I don't know. I don't like to be a cynic like Saint Thomas,
0:06:32 > 0:06:36but I only know too well how hard it is to get to the truth in the Catholic Church.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48I know that much remains hidden here
0:06:48 > 0:06:51because I used to call this place home.
0:06:51 > 0:06:5514 years ago, I gave up my job as a BBC reporter and moved,
0:06:55 > 0:07:00with family, to a new life running a pub restaurant.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04Now, Darragh, back to the old haunt again.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08- Do you think there's any change since you left?- Not a lot has changed.- No?
0:07:08 > 0:07:11'Most of Father Eugene Greene's 26 known victims
0:07:11 > 0:07:14'come from Gortahurk, where I lived.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17'Until the police inquiry began, they suffered in silence.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21'One of them worked with me, Martin Gallagher.'
0:07:21 > 0:07:24This shows exactly where Greene shared his time...
0:07:24 > 0:07:30'Martin shows me the various parishes Father Eugene Greene worked and abused in.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32'He believes the priest was moved
0:07:32 > 0:07:35'every time rumours of abuse surfaced.'
0:07:35 > 0:07:38He served there, and Gweedore, here,
0:07:38 > 0:07:43and he went to... Where were we? ..Glenties, down here.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47Down here, yeah. All the way down.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49He served on Tory Island, under Gortahurk.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51Tory Island and Inishbofin.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54And then he finished up in Kilmacreehy.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56That's where his last post was.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58They're moving this priest...
0:07:59 > 0:08:02It's like spreading a disease from one corner to another.
0:08:02 > 0:08:07The bishops spread the disease. He had the disease, they spread it.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10As simple as A, B, C.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19With the Donegal Church report imminent,
0:08:19 > 0:08:23Martin has just now started to speak publicly about his abuse.
0:08:23 > 0:08:28It began when the 12-year-old was encouraged to drive the priest's car.
0:08:30 > 0:08:35He started groping me when I was driving...and messing about.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40My hands were on the wheel and, at that age, you were nervous,
0:08:40 > 0:08:44probably, at driving, and excited, and all that,
0:08:44 > 0:08:47and you kept your hands on the wheel, regardless.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50And he would carry on...messing.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53He would stop and change. He would drive
0:08:53 > 0:08:57and expect the same treatment back from me
0:08:57 > 0:08:59that I was...he was giving me.
0:08:59 > 0:09:00Like...
0:09:00 > 0:09:05I couldn't do that. He was forcing me to do it.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07Scary.
0:09:07 > 0:09:13Like really scary, because at 12 years old, you're very innocent.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16Very... How would you say? Stupid or whatever...
0:09:16 > 0:09:19You didn't know any better...
0:09:19 > 0:09:22HE SIGHS
0:09:22 > 0:09:23It was...
0:09:25 > 0:09:26And stuff.
0:09:26 > 0:09:31Did he ever say anything to you about, "This is our secret"?
0:09:33 > 0:09:35Yeah. He would...
0:09:37 > 0:09:40Sorry. I've got to stop there.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42Um...
0:09:43 > 0:09:46You know, people looking at this just don't understand...
0:09:48 > 0:09:53..the devastation, the hurt, the harm that that man did.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56They don't... People will never understand.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04The hurt he's caused. The lives he's ruined.
0:10:08 > 0:10:13And the lives that have been lost because of him...
0:10:13 > 0:10:16that could have been prevented, like...
0:10:17 > 0:10:20..if people had taken action.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24When he was with you, did he ever mention God? Did he ever...?
0:10:24 > 0:10:25No, no.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33God was the last thing on his mind. He didn't care about God.
0:10:49 > 0:10:54John McAteer, editor of the local Tirconaill Tribune,
0:10:54 > 0:10:56Donegal born and bred.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00The Church he knew was too powerful, beyond reproach.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05John, what about the culture of silence that was here.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08I mean, does that culture of silence still exist?
0:11:10 > 0:11:16The culture of silence is, I think, a misnomer, to a great extent,
0:11:16 > 0:11:21because of the power and strength of the hierarchy over the centuries and over the years here
0:11:21 > 0:11:24in a very rural and conservative diocese like Raphoe.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27There was a culture of fear...
0:11:27 > 0:11:30fear that if you reported that you were being abused,
0:11:30 > 0:11:34you'd probably be further abused by your parents for making the allegation.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36This was a very serious situation.
0:11:36 > 0:11:41And I think that that is ingrained into the psyche of the people here in this diocese,
0:11:41 > 0:11:43and maybe, to an extent,
0:11:43 > 0:11:46that whole history is there to this very day.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50- You don't think it's gone? - I don't think it's gone, no.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53Because there's a denial there,
0:11:53 > 0:11:56and there remains a denial to this very day,
0:11:56 > 0:11:59that to criticise the Church is entirely wrong.
0:12:06 > 0:12:10That deference is fading, but it almost impossible
0:12:10 > 0:12:14to overstate the power the Catholic Church once had.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25For generations, the Church influenced most aspects of Irish life.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28CHURCH BELL RINGS
0:12:31 > 0:12:34Dublin, and the Eucharistic Congress of 1932.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38The Catholic Church was presiding like a new monarchy
0:12:38 > 0:12:41over the fledgling Irish state.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44Exalted and respected, and feared too.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53Author Colm Toibin grew up Catholic in a country town.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56He's long scrutinised the relationship between the Irish
0:12:56 > 0:12:58and the institutional Church.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04Southern Ireland was effectively, after 1922,
0:13:04 > 0:13:07a Catholic state for a Catholic people.
0:13:07 > 0:13:13The Church was an effective government, or shadow government,
0:13:13 > 0:13:16making it absolutely clear to government
0:13:16 > 0:13:18that they would control schools,
0:13:18 > 0:13:23hospitals and many other areas of public morality.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26Anyone who didn't like this, there was only one place to go
0:13:26 > 0:13:30and that was OUT. Some people went out looking for work,
0:13:30 > 0:13:32other people went out looking for freedom,
0:13:32 > 0:13:33but that was a great release -
0:13:33 > 0:13:36giving the church further power over those who remained.
0:13:36 > 0:13:40And there was a nobility and grandeur about them.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43I mean, the bishop lived in a palace, but even in the towns,
0:13:43 > 0:13:46the priest's house was often - or in villages - the biggest house,
0:13:46 > 0:13:50and the curate had a separate house, and they had housekeepers,
0:13:50 > 0:13:52so there was a sense of their grandeur.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55They almost replaced landlords,
0:13:55 > 0:13:59or were a shadow system in the way in which they functioned,
0:13:59 > 0:14:05and the sense of their distance and grandeur and importance.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14Maynooth College was once the world's largest seminary.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19Thousands of priests left here to work across the globe,
0:14:19 > 0:14:22my own uncle, Father Noel, among them.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25That production line is almost closed.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28Fewer than a dozen priests are expected to be ordained this year.
0:14:32 > 0:14:38The class photo of 2007 shows just four graduating priests.
0:14:38 > 0:14:43Contrast that with the class of 1954.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46This is my uncle, Father Noel MacIntyre.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50As you can see up here, Nollaig Mac an tSaoir in the Irish.
0:14:50 > 0:14:56A decent man, very important to me, growing up. A good man.
0:14:56 > 0:15:01The sort of traditional Irish Catholic parish priest
0:15:01 > 0:15:04that every community deserved.
0:15:04 > 0:15:05Didn't always get.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07But he's a good man.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12You have a sense, don't you, of just an entirely different Ireland,
0:15:12 > 0:15:13looking at this.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16All these men.
0:15:16 > 0:15:21You know, 60, 70 men proudly marching to work for God.
0:15:22 > 0:15:27But that was a different Ireland. And, of course, a different Church.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29That's the point.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37Across Ireland,
0:15:37 > 0:15:41bishops have been forced to account for decades of clerical abuse.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43Can the Church now do the same with the Raphoe report?
0:15:45 > 0:15:47That's the question people are asking in Donegal.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51People like my old neighbours, the Breslins.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55So, where was that?
0:15:55 > 0:15:59'Martin's aunt, Kathleen, and her son Paul,
0:15:59 > 0:16:03'who was also abused by Father Eugene Greene.'
0:16:03 > 0:16:08- That's me.- That's you?- That's Martin, there.- The good-looking one.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11The good-looking one's Martin. I was ugly. And that's my little sister.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15- It's a lovely picture of them. The two boys.- The first Holy Communion.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19Their first Holy Communion, with their rosary beads.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23How tough was it for you at the start, when it all happened?
0:16:23 > 0:16:27- When it all came out? - Oh, it was really tough.
0:16:27 > 0:16:28I remember the first night...
0:16:28 > 0:16:34Martin... The minute he told me, I knew.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36The minute he said it, I said, "I know."
0:16:36 > 0:16:39When he mentioned Father Greene, I knew right away,
0:16:39 > 0:16:44because I knew he took the two of them. So...
0:16:44 > 0:16:45I knew what happened.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48Because it was starting to come out at that time, you know?
0:16:48 > 0:16:50And I heard, you know, so...
0:16:52 > 0:16:56Martin told me that night, and that was the beginning.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59'It's always depended on women.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03'The woman represented the Church in the house.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05'She decided, you know,'
0:17:05 > 0:17:07what mass you went to. She decided who...
0:17:07 > 0:17:11"Have you been to confession?" It was your mother asked you that question.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15There was no saying no. You had to go, and that was it. It's changed, surely.
0:17:15 > 0:17:20- There isn't as many go now.- Would people remark if you didn't go?
0:17:20 > 0:17:23Oh, well, them days, you had to go.
0:17:24 > 0:17:30'Not one bishop, not one senior clergyman had stepped out of line, had been brave enough to say,
0:17:30 > 0:17:33"I know more than everyone is saying
0:17:33 > 0:17:36"and it is wrong." Not one did it.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39And for women who had brought up children,
0:17:39 > 0:17:42who had done everything possible in their own households,
0:17:42 > 0:17:46that was an extraordinary breach of something they fundamentally believed in.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48It was hard to believe it.
0:17:48 > 0:17:52Because when you think that he came in here, you know,
0:17:52 > 0:17:57that he was in this house so often, you know, saying mass...
0:17:58 > 0:18:02It was hard to believe it...you know?
0:18:03 > 0:18:05Paul Breslin was an altar boy
0:18:05 > 0:18:09when Father Eugene Greene first took him away in his car.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16Always to quiet, isolated places.
0:18:16 > 0:18:20The thing is, there's so much beauty here, but, for me,
0:18:20 > 0:18:22there's so much evil and so much hurt.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29I should be out playing with other ten-year-olds. But I wasn't.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31I was being taken down to the beach and raped.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38The age of 10, 11, 12. I had no life at all.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40I had no childhood, no fun...
0:18:40 > 0:18:44Nothing. It was just pain, pain, pain.
0:18:44 > 0:18:45Every single week, pain.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48I would say to myself, "Why is God doing this to me?"
0:18:48 > 0:18:51I thought God was supposed to care
0:18:51 > 0:18:55and the priests were supposed to care, and not hurt a person, you know?
0:18:55 > 0:18:58And I thought, "Maybe I'm doing something wrong here." You know?
0:18:58 > 0:19:01Am I not doing a good enough job as an altar boy
0:19:01 > 0:19:03that he's punishing me for this?
0:19:05 > 0:19:09When I gradually, as I was growing up, when I was 14, 15,
0:19:09 > 0:19:11even up to 16, you're learning about,
0:19:11 > 0:19:15you know, everything about your body, and everything,
0:19:15 > 0:19:18then I would think, "Oh, my God!
0:19:18 > 0:19:23"These things that happened to me! This is what he fucking done to ME!"
0:19:23 > 0:19:27The pain got even worse then. It was in there.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31And I couldn't...I couldn't tell anybody. I couldn't go to anybody.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34They wouldn't believe you, anyway, to start off with.
0:19:34 > 0:19:39'It's now clear that survivors have not been spoken to for the upcoming report,
0:19:39 > 0:19:42'which is relying on the Church's own documents.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46'I worry this will disappoint those who I have met.'
0:19:46 > 0:19:51We weren't involved with this report. We have to speak up, be heard.
0:19:51 > 0:19:55I want this, I want that, I want to see those files, that letter of complaint.
0:19:55 > 0:19:59I want to know why was he moved from this parish.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02You knew he was doing it in that parish but you moved him to the other parish.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05Why was he then moved to the other parish?
0:20:05 > 0:20:10- You want answers?- Of course we want answers. We want answers, big answers. Definitely.
0:20:17 > 0:20:22Father Eugene Greene's crimes might have remained hidden
0:20:22 > 0:20:26except for one man who'd been brutally abused - Conal Melly,
0:20:26 > 0:20:29telling his story for the very first time in public.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31You never forget it.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34It's with you for the rest of your life.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36And there's nothing you can do about it.
0:20:37 > 0:20:42'He has no faith that the Church will admit to a cover-up.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45'After a chance meeting in 1997,
0:20:45 > 0:20:48'he tried to get Greene to admit to his crimes.'
0:20:48 > 0:20:54It was probably... maybe a month after it...
0:20:54 > 0:20:57I went down and confronted him.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03- What did you say to him? - I told him...
0:21:03 > 0:21:06I asked him, did he remember me, and he said no.
0:21:08 > 0:21:12And I said, "Do you remember abusing me when I was young?"
0:21:12 > 0:21:15He said he never abused anyone. Never.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19So what did you say to him? What did you do to him?
0:21:19 > 0:21:22I caught him and flung him across...flung him across the room.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25He was like...
0:21:25 > 0:21:28It was different then. I was a lot bigger than him.
0:21:29 > 0:21:33- What age had you been when he had abused you?- About 11.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35- You were a tiny child?- Yeah.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41- It was different now? - Yeah. it was different now.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46So you picked him up and you...?
0:21:46 > 0:21:49I picked him up and flung him across the room.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51And what did you say to him?
0:21:52 > 0:21:55I can't remember exactly what I said to him,
0:21:55 > 0:21:57but said I would fucking kill him.
0:21:59 > 0:22:04- And I think that frightened him. - But he still didn't admit to...?- No.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07He did not. He never admitted knowing me.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13Conal then told the priest he wanted compensation - £5,000.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16But what did he do?
0:22:19 > 0:22:24He reported it to the guards. He reported me to the guards.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27Why...
0:22:29 > 0:22:31As if he was innocent.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37Or he must have thought the guards would believe him.
0:22:39 > 0:22:43Conal was arrested for attempted blackmail
0:22:43 > 0:22:46but Father Eugene Greene had miscalculated.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50The police were now prepared to believe the former altar boy
0:22:50 > 0:22:52and not the man with the Roman collar.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58Dozens of victims came forward.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02Father Eugene Greene was convicted and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06But what the Church knew was never explained.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11The big change then came from a number of individuals,
0:23:11 > 0:23:15because when the victims began to speak,
0:23:15 > 0:23:19when you saw somebody describing what their adulthood was like
0:23:19 > 0:23:22in the shadow of what had happened to them...
0:23:22 > 0:23:24There was an element of shame in this,
0:23:24 > 0:23:27that they had been living with this,
0:23:27 > 0:23:29this had been going on in front of everyone's noses.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35The big question across Ireland this morning -
0:23:35 > 0:23:38will the report into Donegal's Raphoe diocese
0:23:38 > 0:23:40help restore the Church's reputation?
0:23:40 > 0:23:46What they're predicting in today's papers... The Irish Times -
0:23:46 > 0:23:51"Criticism likely for Raphoe bishops on child sex claims", right?
0:23:51 > 0:23:55If that is the sum of it, if it is just simply a mild criticism,
0:23:55 > 0:23:59that's not going to satisfy them. Absolutely not. They are...
0:23:59 > 0:24:02At one point, they would have been anxious for heads to roll.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04They know that's not going to happen now.
0:24:04 > 0:24:09But they absolutely want the Church to own up, to 'fess up,
0:24:09 > 0:24:15to confess their role in hiding and covering up the crimes,
0:24:15 > 0:24:19for more than three decades, of Father Eugene Greene.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26'Shaun Doherty at highlandradio.com...'
0:24:26 > 0:24:3110am. The local bishop, Philip Boyce, goes live on morning radio.
0:24:32 > 0:24:36'Well, it's an important day for the Diocese of Raphoe
0:24:36 > 0:24:40'because the much-anticipated report has just...'
0:24:40 > 0:24:42Retired detective Martin Ridge,
0:24:42 > 0:24:45waiting to hear if any new information is revealed.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49'Nothing was done at the time. Now, we are talking about the late '70s
0:24:49 > 0:24:53'and there wasn't such awareness of child abuse at that time,
0:24:53 > 0:24:56'and there certainly wasn't awareness...'
0:24:56 > 0:25:01- There WAS awareness of it.- '..The children, sometimes lifelong damage.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04'Our parishes, as far as humanly is possible,
0:25:04 > 0:25:08'a safe place for our children, because, after all, our children...'
0:25:08 > 0:25:12Pathetic, listening to that. Pathetic.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14Self-serving words and no more.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17'..the society and Church of tomorrow.'
0:25:26 > 0:25:30Later, there's a massive media turnout for a press conference with Bishop Boyce.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42I have spent endless hours and given much time
0:25:42 > 0:25:48and energy to eradicating this evil, repairing what is damaged as best I could,
0:25:48 > 0:25:51restoring justice and putting structures in place
0:25:51 > 0:25:56to prevent, as far as possible, this criminal sin from happening again.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to say that
0:25:59 > 0:26:04the task of ensuring the safeguarding of young people in the Diocese of Raphoe is an ongoing one.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07Thank you.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10Bishop Boyce, can I ask you...?
0:26:10 > 0:26:13Pointedly, there is no specific criticism
0:26:13 > 0:26:14of bishops or of the Church
0:26:14 > 0:26:17in the way they handled Father Eugene Greene,
0:26:17 > 0:26:19one of the country's most prolific paedophiles,
0:26:19 > 0:26:25there's no specific criticism of the way the Church or successive bishops handled him,
0:26:25 > 0:26:27including yourself - does this report then,
0:26:27 > 0:26:31in your terms, exonerate bishops and the Church, the way they handled...?
0:26:31 > 0:26:34I'm not saying that it exonerates everybody.
0:26:34 > 0:26:38It...it just shows that, at the time,
0:26:38 > 0:26:44these...the information on these terrible things that happened
0:26:44 > 0:26:50weren't handed up as far as...let's say, as the bishop's office,
0:26:50 > 0:26:53and that word of that didn't come to us,
0:26:53 > 0:26:59because there was no reference whatsoever to any allegation in the files which I saw when I came in.
0:27:03 > 0:27:08The Church never intended the report to thoroughly investigate the past.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11It was restricted to an examination of diocesan files,
0:27:11 > 0:27:15and because nothing was found in the files, that is where it ended.
0:27:21 > 0:27:25It's clear that significant errors of judgment were made by successive bishops
0:27:25 > 0:27:29when responding to child abuse allegations that emerged within this diocese,
0:27:29 > 0:27:33but there's no reference to Father Eugene Greene himself.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36I know if I was...
0:27:38 > 0:27:43..one of those who'd been attacked by Father Eugene Greene,
0:27:43 > 0:27:48or if my brother or my child had been attacked by Father Eugene Greene,
0:27:48 > 0:27:52and this is the sum of the knowledge
0:27:52 > 0:27:58that the Church is admitting to now, I'd be absolutely outraged.
0:27:58 > 0:27:59I'd be furious.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08At the Tirconaill Tribune newspaper,
0:28:08 > 0:28:11the presses are underway by late afternoon.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14The editor has made up his mind.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20My biggest criticism of it, apart from that,
0:28:20 > 0:28:24is that here you have an audit into clerical sex abuse
0:28:24 > 0:28:28that has no terms of reference to talk to the abused,
0:28:28 > 0:28:30and you just ask the question,
0:28:30 > 0:28:33"How can a report of any kind
0:28:33 > 0:28:37"be completed without talking to the victims?"
0:28:37 > 0:28:42Remember that a lot of these survivors have spent
0:28:42 > 0:28:4635, 40 years literally imprisoned in their own minds,
0:28:46 > 0:28:48imprisoned in their own communities and, to a great extent,
0:28:48 > 0:28:53have been hospitalised in psychiatric wards, have had nervous breakdowns,
0:28:53 > 0:28:58have had serious bouts of alcoholism, have had thoughts of suicide.
0:28:58 > 0:29:02The scenario is absolutely horrendous.
0:29:02 > 0:29:07And yet, you contrast that against how the Church has handled it
0:29:07 > 0:29:12and how the institutions of the Church have totally failed those people.
0:29:12 > 0:29:17Today's audit, to me, does nothing to address their concerns and their health problems.
0:29:17 > 0:29:19What'll your front page say tonight?
0:29:19 > 0:29:21We'll be simply saying that
0:29:21 > 0:29:25- a diocesan audit is a whitewash. - A whitewash?- A whitewash.
0:29:28 > 0:29:29It's very difficult
0:29:29 > 0:29:35if you put such an important organisation on the run, as it were,
0:29:35 > 0:29:38that they simply will have no idea how to behave,
0:29:38 > 0:29:40how often to look back as they run,
0:29:40 > 0:29:43how frightened to look, how apologetic to look,
0:29:43 > 0:29:46how to avoid the worst catastrophe.
0:29:46 > 0:29:48So it's not as though you could say
0:29:48 > 0:29:51there was one way the Church should have functioned
0:29:51 > 0:29:52at the very beginning.
0:29:52 > 0:29:55The issue is that the Church had such power
0:29:55 > 0:29:57and that power became abuse
0:29:57 > 0:29:59and that abuse was sexual abuse,
0:29:59 > 0:30:02and that happened to so many vulnerable young people
0:30:02 > 0:30:03whose lives were destroyed
0:30:03 > 0:30:05and that has to be dealt with.
0:30:08 > 0:30:11The failure of the Catholic hierarchy
0:30:11 > 0:30:13to deal with abusing priests
0:30:13 > 0:30:16was not just confined to Donegal.
0:30:16 > 0:30:18One story, still unresolved,
0:30:18 > 0:30:22goes all the way to the very top of the Irish Catholic Church
0:30:22 > 0:30:24and could have explosive consequences.
0:30:26 > 0:30:30It involves Cardinal Sean Brady, Primate of All Ireland...
0:30:30 > 0:30:33The last few days have been among the most extraordinary...
0:30:33 > 0:30:37..and the country's most notorious paedophile priest,
0:30:37 > 0:30:39Father Brendan Smyth.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45At its centre, a boy who in 1975
0:30:45 > 0:30:48reported Smyth's abuse to the cardinal,
0:30:48 > 0:30:51hoping to end the abuse of him and other children.
0:30:51 > 0:30:53What Brendan Boland didn't know
0:30:53 > 0:30:57was that the institution in which he and his family held so much faith
0:30:57 > 0:31:01would in fact conspire to silence him.
0:31:01 > 0:31:03What age were you when this all started?
0:31:05 > 0:31:07Well, when I was an altar boy,
0:31:07 > 0:31:08I was 11 years old.
0:31:10 > 0:31:12- You were just 11?- Just 11, yeah.
0:31:12 > 0:31:14And how long did it carry on for?
0:31:14 > 0:31:17It carried on for...over two years.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24Smyth, who abused for four decades,
0:31:24 > 0:31:27often took children on marathon excursions in his car
0:31:27 > 0:31:30up and down the island.
0:31:30 > 0:31:34Brendan remembers one particular trip to Dublin.
0:31:34 > 0:31:36Got in the car, and we went to Belfast
0:31:36 > 0:31:39and we picked up two children in Belfast.
0:31:41 > 0:31:45And then we drove from Belfast to Cavan.
0:31:45 > 0:31:47We picked a girl up in Cavan.
0:31:50 > 0:31:54Went to pick another boy up in Cavan.
0:31:56 > 0:32:00And then we went back to the bed and breakfast.
0:32:00 > 0:32:02And there was two bedrooms,
0:32:02 > 0:32:04there was one for the girls
0:32:04 > 0:32:07and one for Father Smyth and the two boys.
0:32:07 > 0:32:09That was you and another boy?
0:32:09 > 0:32:11Me and another boy, boy from Belfast.
0:32:13 > 0:32:14And, um...
0:32:14 > 0:32:16He called me over first
0:32:16 > 0:32:20and he abused me the way he did before.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24And when he was finished with me,
0:32:24 > 0:32:26I went back to the bed
0:32:26 > 0:32:28and then he called the other boy over
0:32:28 > 0:32:33and done the same with him, and this time, I was in the bed watching.
0:32:33 > 0:32:36Well, I was listening. I didn't want to watch.
0:32:38 > 0:32:40It was a little afterwards, in 1975,
0:32:40 > 0:32:44that Brendan found the courage to tell a local priest about the abuse.
0:32:44 > 0:32:49The priest took him straight home to tell his parents.
0:32:49 > 0:32:50A week or so later,
0:32:50 > 0:32:54Brendan and his dad were driven to a local monastery.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57Brendan was led into a room with three priests,
0:32:57 > 0:32:59including Father John B Brady,
0:32:59 > 0:33:00now Cardinal Brady,
0:33:00 > 0:33:06then a 36-year-old teacher, canon lawyer and bishop's secretary.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09Brendan was to be questioned alone.
0:33:09 > 0:33:11His father was told to stay outside.
0:33:11 > 0:33:14I felt alone, scared. I didn't know what was going to happen.
0:33:14 > 0:33:17I didn't know what questions they were going to ask me.
0:33:17 > 0:33:19I was only 14 at the time, Darragh.
0:33:19 > 0:33:21Your father wasn't in there with you?
0:33:21 > 0:33:22My father wasn't there with me, no.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27'Cardinal Brady compiled the answers.
0:33:27 > 0:33:29'Another priest asked the questions.
0:33:29 > 0:33:32'Brendan was asked what Smyth did,
0:33:32 > 0:33:35'but also about his own behaviour.'
0:33:35 > 0:33:36What did they ask you?
0:33:36 > 0:33:40"Did you ever do anything like this before with another boy
0:33:40 > 0:33:42"or a man, a grown man?"
0:33:42 > 0:33:46And I said no. And they said, "If not, why not?"
0:33:46 > 0:33:49And they kept asking me, did my body change?
0:33:49 > 0:33:51Did I get an erection?
0:33:53 > 0:33:56They asked me then, did seed come from my body?
0:33:57 > 0:34:00What kind of questions are they to ask a 14-year-old boy?
0:34:03 > 0:34:07Brendan might have been shaken by the nature of the questions
0:34:07 > 0:34:10but as the Church's own transcript confirms,
0:34:10 > 0:34:14he was able to tell the priests the names and addresses
0:34:14 > 0:34:17of other children Smyth was abusing
0:34:17 > 0:34:19or who were at risk of abuse.
0:34:19 > 0:34:22I give them the names of the other children that were on the trips.
0:34:22 > 0:34:27There was a boy from Belfast, I gave them his name and address.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30There was a girl from Belfast, I gave them her name and address.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34There was a girl from Cavan, I gave them her name and address.
0:34:34 > 0:34:38There was another boy from Cavan, I gave them his name and address,
0:34:38 > 0:34:40and there was another boy that was his friend.
0:34:40 > 0:34:43Were you able to be any more specific about abuse
0:34:43 > 0:34:45you had seen or witnessed?
0:34:45 > 0:34:48Yeah, I told them that
0:34:48 > 0:34:51I witnessed one boy being abused.
0:34:51 > 0:34:53- I told them that.- Who was that?
0:34:53 > 0:34:55That was the boy from Belfast.
0:34:55 > 0:34:58- You told them that this boy had been abused.- I did, yes.
0:34:58 > 0:35:00I knew for a fact he was abused
0:35:00 > 0:35:03and the other boy from Cavan, he told me he was abused
0:35:03 > 0:35:05cos he didn't like going on the trips either.
0:35:07 > 0:35:12The documents verify Brendan's account in black and white.
0:35:12 > 0:35:15One of the priests came over, I'm not sure, with a Bible,
0:35:15 > 0:35:18and he made me put my hand on the Bible and say,
0:35:18 > 0:35:20"I, Brendan Boland, do solemnly swear
0:35:20 > 0:35:22"I have told the truth, the whole truth,
0:35:22 > 0:35:25"and I will speak to no-one about this meeting,
0:35:25 > 0:35:28"only to authorised priests."
0:35:28 > 0:35:30And then I signed it
0:35:30 > 0:35:34and the other signature on the document was Father John B Brady,
0:35:34 > 0:35:36the Sean Brady Cardinal of Ireland.
0:35:48 > 0:35:51Cardinal Brady still had work to do.
0:35:51 > 0:35:54He himself conducted a second interview,
0:35:54 > 0:35:57this time with the Cavan boy Brendan had told him about.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00The child corroborated Brendan's account.
0:36:00 > 0:36:01He was sworn to secrecy.
0:36:01 > 0:36:04Again, Cardinal Brady countersigned the oath.
0:36:04 > 0:36:06He passed two reports to his bishop.
0:36:06 > 0:36:09The police were told nothing - ever.
0:36:11 > 0:36:13I've just spoken to the man
0:36:13 > 0:36:19who as a 15-year-old boy, was also interviewed by Cardinal Sean Brady,
0:36:19 > 0:36:22and what he's told me is shocking.
0:36:22 > 0:36:26He says that his parents were told nothing
0:36:26 > 0:36:29about his involvement in the secret church investigation.
0:36:29 > 0:36:33More than that, he says his parents were not told
0:36:33 > 0:36:35that he was being abused
0:36:35 > 0:36:37by Father Brendan Smyth.
0:36:37 > 0:36:40The Church, of course, said nothing
0:36:40 > 0:36:42and he said nothing to anyone,
0:36:42 > 0:36:44not a soul.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47Because he was sworn to secrecy.
0:36:48 > 0:36:53I then traced Brendan's friend from Belfast, using the same address
0:36:53 > 0:36:56that the 14-year-old gave all those years ago.
0:36:57 > 0:37:00I remember going up to Dublin with Brendan.
0:37:00 > 0:37:04I think there was about five or six of us on that trip.
0:37:05 > 0:37:07Brendan...
0:37:09 > 0:37:10Brendan was a nice fella.
0:37:10 > 0:37:13He was probably as petrified as I was at the time,
0:37:13 > 0:37:16and the things...
0:37:16 > 0:37:18You know, I just felt...
0:37:18 > 0:37:21In many ways, I felt very guilty too
0:37:21 > 0:37:25because I was sharing a room with this other boy
0:37:25 > 0:37:27and Smyth and his behaviour
0:37:27 > 0:37:29and what he would maybe want us to do
0:37:29 > 0:37:32and the way he wanted us to behave.
0:37:32 > 0:37:34I just, it's...
0:37:34 > 0:37:38It's unbearable to think about it sometimes, you know.
0:37:41 > 0:37:44When I tell him that Cardinal Brady was told in 1975
0:37:44 > 0:37:47that he was being abused,
0:37:47 > 0:37:49that his name is down on paper,
0:37:49 > 0:37:51he is horrified.
0:37:51 > 0:37:53And then, as it transpired
0:37:53 > 0:37:57that Brendan had mentioned me
0:37:57 > 0:37:59and that my name and address
0:37:59 > 0:38:04was actually on these documents as well, it was just, like...
0:38:05 > 0:38:09It's like a knife into your chest,
0:38:09 > 0:38:11it's like a sudden sharp pain.
0:38:11 > 0:38:14And the reason it hurt so much
0:38:14 > 0:38:20is that Father Brendan Smyth continued to abuse him after 1975,
0:38:20 > 0:38:23then his sister for another seven years,
0:38:23 > 0:38:26and four cousins abused right up until 1988.
0:38:28 > 0:38:31Nobody came to our house, who should have came to our house
0:38:31 > 0:38:35and warned our family or my parents
0:38:35 > 0:38:38and said, "Look, this is what's happening,
0:38:38 > 0:38:39"this man is involved in this,
0:38:39 > 0:38:43"we would strictly advise you to keep him away from the house."
0:38:43 > 0:38:47OK, maybe I had only another year's abuse to go
0:38:47 > 0:38:51but my sister, you know - for years after that, she was abused
0:38:51 > 0:38:54and then lo and behold, cousins after that.
0:38:59 > 0:39:01I have spoken to all those
0:39:01 > 0:39:05who Brendan Boland told the Church about in 1975.
0:39:05 > 0:39:10Four of the five children had been abused by Smyth.
0:39:10 > 0:39:15Two of them continued to be abused after that secret enquiry.
0:39:15 > 0:39:18All say that to the best of their knowledge,
0:39:18 > 0:39:22their families were not warned in any way about the paedophile.
0:39:25 > 0:39:29Brendan, poor Brendan, actually thought giving this information,
0:39:29 > 0:39:33he was going to protect me, he was going to protect other people,
0:39:33 > 0:39:35and thinking this was going to be the end of it.
0:39:35 > 0:39:37And by God, it is far from the end.
0:39:40 > 0:39:45Cardinal Brady's own career took off after 1975,
0:39:45 > 0:39:46first away to Rome,
0:39:46 > 0:39:50and then in 1997, made Primate of All Ireland,
0:39:50 > 0:39:53the senior Catholic in the country.
0:39:53 > 0:39:56By his own account, he never failed to protect any child.
0:39:56 > 0:39:59If I found myself in the situation
0:39:59 > 0:40:03where I was aware
0:40:03 > 0:40:06that my failure to act
0:40:06 > 0:40:08had allowed
0:40:08 > 0:40:13or meant that other children were abused,
0:40:13 > 0:40:15well then, I think I would resign.
0:40:18 > 0:40:22'I'm writing what's called a "right of reply" letter to Cardinal Brady,
0:40:22 > 0:40:25'telling him what we have discovered, point by point.
0:40:25 > 0:40:26'I want to know why
0:40:26 > 0:40:30'he didn't make sure the children he'd been told about were protected
0:40:30 > 0:40:35'and I want to know why he and the Church seemed to minimise his role
0:40:35 > 0:40:39'when it is plain that he carried out the investigation into Smyth.
0:40:39 > 0:40:42'When limited news of the church investigation
0:40:42 > 0:40:45'first broke two years ago, the Church called him an note-taker.
0:40:45 > 0:40:49'He said he was a notary without powers, who did his job.'
0:40:51 > 0:40:53I insist again, I did act
0:40:53 > 0:40:56and acted effectively within that enquiry,
0:40:56 > 0:41:00to produce the grounds for removing Father Smyth from ministry
0:41:00 > 0:41:02and specifically, it was underlined
0:41:02 > 0:41:05that he was not to hear confessions.
0:41:05 > 0:41:07And that was very important.
0:41:10 > 0:41:12The ban on Smyth wasn't enforced.
0:41:12 > 0:41:16Here he is four years later at a special mass for the sick
0:41:16 > 0:41:19and when Cardinal Brady says he was a notary,
0:41:19 > 0:41:22his role was in fact that of an investigator,
0:41:22 > 0:41:25according to his own handwritten note.
0:41:25 > 0:41:29"I was dispatched to investigate the complaint."
0:41:32 > 0:41:35'I needed to find a clear path
0:41:35 > 0:41:39'through the archaic and often confusing world of canon law,
0:41:39 > 0:41:42'the church law that Cardinal Brady was versed in
0:41:42 > 0:41:45'and that he applied to this 1975 case.
0:41:45 > 0:41:50'My guide is Rev Thomas Doyle, a world-renowned expert in the field.'
0:41:52 > 0:41:53He was the investigator.
0:41:53 > 0:41:57He was deputed to investigate, to lead the investigation,
0:41:57 > 0:41:59to make sure that it had taken place.
0:41:59 > 0:42:01Not simply a note-taker?
0:42:01 > 0:42:05No, not simply... that's minimising what he actually was.
0:42:05 > 0:42:06He did take notes
0:42:06 > 0:42:09but he also prepared the report
0:42:09 > 0:42:11and he authenticated the report.
0:42:11 > 0:42:14You know that Cardinal Brady insists he did his job,
0:42:14 > 0:42:16that he passed the information he had
0:42:16 > 0:42:18up to his bishop. Did he do his job?
0:42:18 > 0:42:20Just to say that I did my duty,
0:42:20 > 0:42:22I just followed orders, I passed it up the chain,
0:42:22 > 0:42:24is completely inadequate.
0:42:24 > 0:42:27I mean, if he didn't do it, he should have told the bishop,
0:42:27 > 0:42:30"The other families need to be notified,
0:42:30 > 0:42:32"if you won't do it, I will do it."
0:42:32 > 0:42:33The man was not a robot.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36And these are human beings he's dealing with here.
0:42:36 > 0:42:39So, you know, the information was very clear,
0:42:39 > 0:42:42the testimony that Brendan apparently gave to them
0:42:42 > 0:42:44was very, very clear and detailed
0:42:44 > 0:42:46as well as the names of the others.
0:42:46 > 0:42:48These are the ones we know about.
0:42:48 > 0:42:51There could well have been a number of others.
0:42:51 > 0:42:54That could have been prevented but it was not prevented.
0:42:54 > 0:42:56That in itself is criminal behaviour.
0:42:56 > 0:42:59Because the bishops, the priest, Brady, they knew
0:42:59 > 0:43:02that this man was an abuser of children.
0:43:07 > 0:43:09It wasn't that he was, as I said,
0:43:09 > 0:43:11slapping their wrists with a ruler in class,
0:43:11 > 0:43:13he was sexually assaulting them.
0:43:13 > 0:43:16Nothing happened. Again, a cover-up.
0:43:27 > 0:43:31Ultimately, all power in the Catholic Church resides in Rome
0:43:31 > 0:43:34with the Pope, who appoints all the bishops,
0:43:34 > 0:43:36all the cardinals.
0:43:41 > 0:43:46'This is one hierarchy which doesn't pretend to be anything else.
0:43:47 > 0:43:52'Estimates vary, but so far, the abuse scandals have cost the Church
0:43:52 > 0:43:55'about £3 billion - and counting.'
0:43:58 > 0:44:02'Much more vital damage has been done to its reputation
0:44:02 > 0:44:04'and to its moral authority.'
0:44:09 > 0:44:13'This day, senior church figures from around the globe are gathering
0:44:13 > 0:44:17'for a conference in Rome, looking at ways of rooting out child abuse.
0:44:19 > 0:44:22'Cardinal Sean Brady heads a small Irish delegation.
0:44:22 > 0:44:25'I've been told that even within the church,
0:44:25 > 0:44:28'Cardinal Brady is seen as a gravely weakened leader.
0:44:30 > 0:44:33'I don't expect to speak to him
0:44:33 > 0:44:36'until he has had time to respond to my letter,
0:44:36 > 0:44:38'but I do want to speak to this man,
0:44:38 > 0:44:41'Monsignor Charles Scicluna.
0:44:41 > 0:44:45'He is one of the most powerful officials in the Catholic Church,
0:44:45 > 0:44:47'the chief prosecutor.
0:44:47 > 0:44:50'Having examined 4,000 cases of clerical abuse,
0:44:50 > 0:44:55'he says accountability and truth are the only way forward.'
0:44:57 > 0:45:02We need to move on from a culture of silence,
0:45:02 > 0:45:06and where it is, we need to denounce it for what it is.
0:45:06 > 0:45:09It is an enemy of truth
0:45:09 > 0:45:12and an enemy of justice.
0:45:14 > 0:45:18'I want to know what he thinks about Cardinal Brady.'
0:45:18 > 0:45:22Cardinal Sean Brady was told in 1975
0:45:22 > 0:45:26that a young boy was being abused at that particular point.
0:45:26 > 0:45:29He was given that man's name, the boy's name,
0:45:29 > 0:45:31that boy's address, where he lived,
0:45:31 > 0:45:35and yet, that boy was abused for another year.
0:45:35 > 0:45:38His sister was abused for seven years.
0:45:38 > 0:45:42His four first cousins were abused until 1988,
0:45:42 > 0:45:46many years past the 1975 information
0:45:46 > 0:45:50that Cardinal Sean Brady, now Primate of All Ireland,
0:45:50 > 0:45:52was given that information.
0:45:53 > 0:45:55What you're telling me...
0:45:58 > 0:46:00..helps us emphasise the fact
0:46:00 > 0:46:05that when we talk about an adequate response
0:46:05 > 0:46:08and we're talking about abuse happening,
0:46:08 > 0:46:11it cannot be a delayed response.
0:46:11 > 0:46:14The response to disclosure
0:46:14 > 0:46:18should be immediate and effective,
0:46:18 > 0:46:21and that is why the law was changed in 2010,
0:46:21 > 0:46:23because we are on a learning curve,
0:46:23 > 0:46:26giving the bishop authority
0:46:26 > 0:46:29to remove a priest,
0:46:29 > 0:46:32as a precautionary measure, immediately.
0:46:32 > 0:46:34Cardinal Sean Brady said in 2009
0:46:34 > 0:46:38that he would resign if he thought that any failing on his part
0:46:38 > 0:46:41meant or lead to any child being abused. He said he would resign.
0:46:41 > 0:46:43Should he not resign now?
0:46:43 > 0:46:46I think that is a question you have to put to Cardinal Brady.
0:46:46 > 0:46:50You are the chief prosecutor, as such, in terms of canon law.
0:46:50 > 0:46:52Do you not have an opinion on this?
0:46:52 > 0:46:55I have my opinion, and I will keep it to myself.
0:46:55 > 0:46:59This is about accountability. You've spoken about accountability today.
0:46:59 > 0:47:03Yes, and I think that what I've said about accountability
0:47:03 > 0:47:07is that the Holy See has a duty
0:47:07 > 0:47:10to bring bishops to accountability.
0:47:10 > 0:47:14It's something that needs to be done and needs to be effected,
0:47:14 > 0:47:18but this is where I stop with my comments on an individual case.
0:47:18 > 0:47:20Victims say the key is
0:47:20 > 0:47:23to get individuals, to get bishops, to get the church
0:47:23 > 0:47:26to acknowledge its responsibility.
0:47:26 > 0:47:29You've heard that time and time again. Here's another case
0:47:29 > 0:47:34where a bishop, a cardinal, is not acknowledging his responsibility,
0:47:34 > 0:47:36his personal responsibility.
0:47:36 > 0:47:39I repeat that
0:47:39 > 0:47:44this is something that should be put to Cardinal Brady directly.
0:47:44 > 0:47:49And I will talk to him, because he is in town,
0:47:49 > 0:47:51about what you have told me.
0:47:51 > 0:47:55I will bring your concerns to him,
0:47:55 > 0:47:58because I think that is a duty I have in charity.
0:47:58 > 0:48:00Thank you.
0:48:12 > 0:48:14Later, a special prayer vigil
0:48:14 > 0:48:18seeking forgiveness for the sins of the Church against children.
0:48:18 > 0:48:21A solemn ceremony
0:48:21 > 0:48:25where Cardinal Brady makes his only public utterance of the week.
0:48:25 > 0:48:28But you are a god of pardon,
0:48:28 > 0:48:31gracious and compassionate,
0:48:31 > 0:48:33slow to anger
0:48:33 > 0:48:34and rich in mercy.
0:48:46 > 0:48:48I don't think anyone could doubt
0:48:48 > 0:48:51the sincerity of the prayers of Cardinal Sean Brady,
0:48:51 > 0:48:53seeking forgiveness. The problem he has,
0:48:53 > 0:48:56and the problem the Church has, is that many people,
0:48:56 > 0:49:00especially those affected by what he did or didn't do back in 1975,
0:49:00 > 0:49:03they want more than his prayers.
0:49:03 > 0:49:05They want him to acknowledge
0:49:05 > 0:49:08his own personal responsibility for what happened.
0:49:08 > 0:49:10They want his resignation.
0:49:10 > 0:49:12We live in the age of apology,
0:49:12 > 0:49:15so that watching the church learning, and obviously,
0:49:15 > 0:49:18they got a great deal of help from PR companies in how to do this,
0:49:18 > 0:49:21how to present themselves as totally sorry,
0:49:21 > 0:49:24and sorry became the easiest word to say.
0:49:24 > 0:49:26"Apologise, apologise."
0:49:26 > 0:49:28But everyone was watching something else.
0:49:28 > 0:49:33Everyone was watching that they were not coming with full disclosure.
0:49:33 > 0:49:35And the full disclosure was
0:49:35 > 0:49:39that they knew that priests were moved from place to place
0:49:39 > 0:49:41with a large number of other priests
0:49:41 > 0:49:44knowing exactly what the issues were.
0:49:44 > 0:49:46And parents watching this knew
0:49:46 > 0:49:50that was not something parents would have done in Ireland
0:49:50 > 0:49:51to other parents
0:49:51 > 0:49:53and the church did it to them.
0:49:54 > 0:49:58'Cardinal Brady never replied to the questions in my letter
0:49:58 > 0:50:00'so I went and put them to him directly.'
0:50:01 > 0:50:05Cardinal Brady, Darragh MacIntyre from the BBC. Cardinal Brady,
0:50:05 > 0:50:08- I'd like to ask a few questions, if you don't mind.- No, no, I'm not...
0:50:08 > 0:50:11- Thanks very much, but I'm not ready...- Cardinal Brady,
0:50:11 > 0:50:14you said you would resign if you thought any action of yours
0:50:14 > 0:50:17- had led to a child being abused. - No, I'm not...
0:50:17 > 0:50:19You know that children were abused,
0:50:19 > 0:50:22in part because you failed to protect them.
0:50:22 > 0:50:26No. I did what I was there to do.
0:50:26 > 0:50:30- I took the evidence.- You had names and addresses, Cardinal,
0:50:30 > 0:50:34- of children who were being abused or at risk of being abused.- Please...
0:50:34 > 0:50:37And you did not protect them.
0:50:37 > 0:50:39Sorry, lads. Excuse me.
0:50:43 > 0:50:44- Cardinal Brady!- Sorry, lads.
0:50:44 > 0:50:48Cardinal Brady, was the protection of the church's reputation
0:50:48 > 0:50:50more important than the protection of the children?
0:50:50 > 0:50:54You had the names and addresses of children who were being abused
0:50:54 > 0:50:55or who were at risk of being abused.
0:50:55 > 0:50:58You failed to protect them, Cardinal.
0:51:04 > 0:51:06He's, again...
0:51:07 > 0:51:11..deliberately, wilfully,
0:51:11 > 0:51:14refusing to take responsibility
0:51:14 > 0:51:17for his actions, for his inactions,
0:51:17 > 0:51:19which left children exposed to abuse.
0:51:29 > 0:51:32So resplendent with power and authority
0:51:32 > 0:51:34was the Catholic Church in Ireland,
0:51:34 > 0:51:37its fall from grace was bound to be spectacular.
0:51:37 > 0:51:40But no-one could ever have imagined
0:51:40 > 0:51:43that the Catholic Church would be so trenchantly criticised
0:51:43 > 0:51:45by an Irish Prime Minister.
0:51:48 > 0:51:51The rape and the torture of children
0:51:51 > 0:51:53were downplayed or managed
0:51:53 > 0:51:56to uphold instead
0:51:56 > 0:51:58the primacy of the institution,
0:51:58 > 0:51:59its power, its standing
0:51:59 > 0:52:01and its reputation.
0:52:02 > 0:52:07The Irish government has closed its embassy to the Vatican.
0:52:07 > 0:52:10Dublin and the Holy See want to play down tensions,
0:52:10 > 0:52:14yet it is clear that the Church is now having to pay a price
0:52:14 > 0:52:18for the grip it held Ireland in for so long.
0:52:18 > 0:52:21And as the Cardinal Brady case illustrates,
0:52:21 > 0:52:24it is not finished accounting for its sins just yet.
0:52:24 > 0:52:26Holy Roman Catholic Ireland,
0:52:26 > 0:52:30the Ireland that you and I grew up with, where is it now?
0:52:30 > 0:52:32It doesn't exist any more
0:52:32 > 0:52:34and people have discovered
0:52:34 > 0:52:37that in abandoning their relationship to the official Church
0:52:37 > 0:52:41and their loyalty to it, they've lost almost nothing.
0:52:41 > 0:52:42They haven't lost their faith?
0:52:42 > 0:52:46No, if you ask them questions about, for example, the next life
0:52:46 > 0:52:48or eternal life, or other matters,
0:52:48 > 0:52:50if you ask them about religion,
0:52:50 > 0:52:53I think, you could find that maybe very little has changed,
0:52:53 > 0:52:57but in relationship to the Church, everything has changed.
0:53:01 > 0:53:05Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord with thee, blessed art thou...
0:53:05 > 0:53:08Church attendance has more than halved across Ireland
0:53:08 > 0:53:12but this ancient ritual is still very much alive.
0:53:12 > 0:53:16For more than 500 years, believers have celebrated the New Year
0:53:16 > 0:53:19with a procession to Doon Well at Termon in Donegal.
0:53:19 > 0:53:22Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord with thee,
0:53:22 > 0:53:24blessed art thou amongst women...
0:53:30 > 0:53:35The ceremony ends with the blessing of the holy water of Doon Well.
0:53:40 > 0:53:43The water is said to have special healing powers.
0:53:43 > 0:53:46It is in great demand.
0:53:47 > 0:53:49- Happy New Year, everybody. - APPLAUSE
0:53:49 > 0:53:51The faith lives on in the people.
0:53:51 > 0:53:55This faith is not dependent
0:53:55 > 0:53:58on bishops and cardinals
0:53:58 > 0:54:00or the hierarchical structures.
0:54:00 > 0:54:02They're aware of it
0:54:02 > 0:54:07but this is a very much, I'd use the word "earthed" faith.
0:54:07 > 0:54:09# Lady of Knock
0:54:09 > 0:54:13# My queen of peace
0:54:13 > 0:54:17# And the lamb will conquer
0:54:17 > 0:54:21# And the woman clothed in the sun
0:54:21 > 0:54:26# Will shine her light on everyone
0:54:27 > 0:54:31# Yes, the lamb will conquer
0:54:31 > 0:54:35# And the woman clothed in the sun
0:54:35 > 0:54:40# Will shine her light on everyone. #
0:54:57 > 0:54:59In Donegal, the policeman
0:54:59 > 0:55:02who investigated the Father Eugene Greene case
0:55:02 > 0:55:07remains sceptical the Church will ever deal honestly with abuse.
0:55:07 > 0:55:08People who knew about this,
0:55:08 > 0:55:11I find them so revolting
0:55:11 > 0:55:14because it's them, you know, that did something
0:55:14 > 0:55:17and I believe they protected an image
0:55:17 > 0:55:20rather than protecting a child,
0:55:20 > 0:55:24and I believe that's where the whole fraud lies,
0:55:24 > 0:55:27that the premise of trust was used
0:55:27 > 0:55:30to bury the most graphic horror.
0:55:30 > 0:55:34This would not be tolerated in any civilised society
0:55:34 > 0:55:38and for any institution to use its power to bury this horror,
0:55:38 > 0:55:41I believe those people should be sent to jail, basically,
0:55:41 > 0:55:43for those grave crimes.
0:55:43 > 0:55:47And until that day arrives that everybody is equal,
0:55:47 > 0:55:50then I think we're only shadow-boxing with this.
0:56:00 > 0:56:02Still others, like Martin Gallagher,
0:56:02 > 0:56:06live with the daily reminders of the damage to their lives.
0:56:08 > 0:56:12'This part of my life, I'll never know anything about.
0:56:12 > 0:56:16'I know that I was very happy in my childhood before this.
0:56:16 > 0:56:20'I got on great with everybody and it was fun,
0:56:20 > 0:56:22'like normal children have.
0:56:22 > 0:56:26'But from the age of 12 on,
0:56:26 > 0:56:30'I don't know where I could be or what I could have been.
0:56:30 > 0:56:35'I might have been just still the ordinary Martin,
0:56:35 > 0:56:38'but without this cross to carry
0:56:38 > 0:56:39'every day of my life.'
0:56:49 > 0:56:52For the first time since their ordeal almost 40 years ago,
0:56:52 > 0:56:56Brendan meets his old friend from Belfast.
0:56:56 > 0:56:58There may be a future for them
0:56:58 > 0:57:02supporting each other through the memories of an appalling experience
0:57:02 > 0:57:04that no child should ever endure.
0:57:04 > 0:57:06Oh, my God! Buddy, how are you?
0:57:09 > 0:57:10How are you doing?
0:57:13 > 0:57:15Oh, it's so good to see you.
0:57:15 > 0:57:16And you, and you.
0:57:16 > 0:57:19- It's 38 years now. 38 years.- I know.
0:57:19 > 0:57:22I know, brother. I'd take all that.
0:57:25 > 0:57:28- How you keeping?- Not too bad. You?
0:57:28 > 0:57:29I'm all right.
0:57:33 > 0:57:36- You've been through the wars too. - And you.
0:57:36 > 0:57:38I thought I'd saved you.
0:58:37 > 0:58:40Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd