Why did the Church protect pedophile Father Brendan Smyth for so long?

Answer 1

A:Father Brendan Smyth was a truly evil man who took advantage of his position to abuse numerous children who should have trusted him. Church officials such as Cardinal Brady protected Smyth because by protecting him they believed they were protecting the good name of the Church. Those who complained were cajoled and bullied into silence. Even today, some members of the Church are arguably complicit in covering up the actions of priests like Smyth when they seek to deflect proper scrutiny of the problem by insisting that these child abuses are rare, or that offences committed by priests are no more common than offences committed by members of the general public.