Forgive Me My Sins

My blog has been neglected of late. I could blame many things, but it's mostly because I got a little lazy. I hereby beg forgiveness from the internet gods and shall hope that no punishment shall be inflicted.

Speaking of punishment and forgiveness...

While I was away last week (the ISDA festival was flipping unreal), a story broke about Cardinal Brady. The basic version is that he was in a meeting where victims of Fr. Brenden Smyth's sexual abuse were forced to swear an oath of silence about their allegations. Unsurprisingly, this led to a tide of calls for Cardinal Brady's resignation.

Morally, there was fault. He knew about the monster that was Fr. Smyth and all he did was pass the buck to his superior's and not say anything in the intervening twenty years before Fr. Smyth saw justice. Twenty more years of abusing innocent children could have been prevented. Surely, resigning is the only correct course?

Personally, I don't think so.

The then Fr. Brady was in no position of power. He did the best he could within the structures. Can we blame him for not speaking out? Not really. The culture at the time was one of denial and cover-up. Fr. Brady was not the only one to know. Practically everyone knew on some level what was going on. I lay the blame at the higher levels of hierarchy at the time and not at the lowest level. Realistically, everyone who could replace him was probably complicit on a similar level. He could do a lot more trying to work from the inside.

The key question is whether his ability to lead the Church has been compromised. In reality, I don't think so. Given the small role he played in the past, given the potential good he can do from where he is now, given the ability of the man; I can only see him doing good from here. I don't want to sound insensitive, but I do not think that the victims of Brenden Smyth are served by his resignation. Fr. Smyth was the perpetrator. The hierarchy at the time were the ones complicit.  Not Cardinal Brady.

These calls for his resignation come from a desire for vengeance against the institution rather than from some viewpoint of justice.