Cardinal Seán Brady has faced widespread criticism over his handling of a clergy child abuse scandal, and for his refusal to apologise after a priest was allowed to evade questioning over an IRA bombing. But he defiantly told an Irish newspaper that he would not be stepping down and that he hoped to attend many of the engagements during Benedict XVI’s historic state visit to Scotland and England in three weeks’ time.
“I plan to accompany Pope Benedict in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and Birmingham,” said Cardinal Brady, the head of the church in Ireland.
His presence at public events in Britain will likely lead to increase turnout at protests, as the country’s Roman Catholic church has so far escaped much of the criticism leveled at Ireland.
Terry Sanderson, President of the National Secular Society which is leading opposition to the Pontiff’s visit, said: “This graphically illustrates the innate arrogance of so many in the Catholic hierarchy.
“If the Pope permits Cardinal Brady to accompany him on his travels through the United Kingdom he will be giving tacit approval to the Cardinal’s disgraceful behaviour.
“How can we be convinced that Pope Benedict means what he says about clearing up the child abuse scandal when he permits someone with Cardinal Brady’s past to continue in office?”
It emerged earlier this year that Cardinal Brady, 71, was personally involved in the cover-up of clergy child abuse many years ago.
As a priest in Co Cavan in 1975, he had been present at meetings where young victims signed vows of silence over complaints against a notorious paedophile monk, Fr Brendan Smyth.
The Church claimed the boys were told to sign oaths “to avoid potential collusion” in an internal inquiry, but Cardinal Brady did not tell police about the crimes and Fr Smyth went on to abuse more children.
In his St Patrick’s Day Mass, Cardinal Brady apologised to those he had let down and added: "Looking back I am ashamed that I have not always upheld the values that I profess and believe in."
But although abuse survivors and politicians called on Cardinal Brady to resign, he did not.
He was rumoured to have tendered his resignation in Rome before Easter but insisted to the Irish Independent: "This is not true about my resigning. I am not resigning."
Cardinal Brady faced more criticism last week after a report by the police ombudsman found that the church hierarchy and the British government had colluded and allowed a priest suspected of involvement in the Claudy bombing, which killed nine people, to travel across the border from Northern Ireland to another parish rather than face justice.
The Cardinal issued a statement agreeing that Fr James Chesney’s terrorist activity was “shocking” but insisted there had been no cover-up.