Questions For Cardinal Brady

Questions For Cardinal Brady

Cardinal Brady denies that Catholic Church leaders
colluded with British government authorities in covering up
Father Chesney's role in a terrorist bombing in Claudy.

The bombing was a massacre of innocent people.

Cardinal Brady, what do you consider collusion to be?
How do you define collusion in this instant case?

We know this.

On Monday 31 July 1972 between 10:15 and 10:30 am,
three car bombs exploded in Claudy, County Londonderry,
Northern Ireland. Nine people were killed, and thirty were wounded.

Cardinal, the dead were people; human beings. They had lives, hopes,
wishes, feelings, emotions and dreams. And, so this not impersonal
exercise it is necessary to say something about them to put a face on
this massacre.

Kathryn Eakin was eight. Eight! She was 'cleaning the windows of
her family's shop when the first bomb ended her life.

Patrick Connolly, age 15, died eight on 8 August. He was wounded
by shrapnel during the initial blast while ‘ in Rose McLaughlin's shop.'

William Temple was a milkman's helper. He was sixteen, and injured
in the same explosion, and 'killed instantly in the third explosion.

Rose McLaughlin, 52, had eight children. She was in her shop speaking
to a customer when the first bomb detonated. She died on 3 August as a
result of the shrapnel wounds she received.

Elizabeth McElhinney, age 59, was a nurse. She died instantly after
explosion. She was pumping gas outside her family's pub.

Arthur Hone, was a 38 year-old musician. He was the last person killed
from the first bomb. He was hit with flying shrapnel whilst 'in
Elizabeth McElhinney's shop.' He died on August 13th.

Joseph McCloskey, 39 had his life snuffed out from the first bomb.
He had seven children, and 'had taken his four-year-old son...to buy a
newspaper.’ His son survived the blasts.

David Miller, age 60, was helping the wounded (as I did as an 18 year
old Marine in Vietnam- a boy) from the first explosion. When police found
the second bomb, they directed people away from the scene, but, unfortunately,
‘into the path of the third’ bomb.

James McClelland, 65, was also helping the wounded when he was killed by
the last explosion.

Father Chesney was moved south of the border to the Republic ''after secret
talks between the then, Secretary of state, William Whitelaw and Cardinal
Conway, head of the Catholic Church in Ireland.

Father Chesney is believed to have been 'involved in IRA activities until
his death in 1980.’

A detective friend in the US once said to me, that for him, there are three basic
questions in any criminal investigation.

What happened?
Who did it?, and
Why? (motive). Sometimes, this can mean who stood to profit.

In this instant case it was the Catholic Church that benefited by not
having one of its own arrested for this massacre. The same goes for
its handling of sexual abuse cases.

The second and third questions were never answered
because of the collusion between the senior police officers, British
government officials and the Catholic heirarchy.

Father Chesney was never questioned even though police believed him
to be involved, and Cardinal Conway described him as a 'bad man.'

So, like a paedophile priest, he was secretly moved away from the scene of
the crime, and the criminal jurisdiction where the events took place.

He continued to minister on the one hand, and was free to pursue
his criminal activities with impunity.

The families had their lives torn apart. Catholic, and Protestant. Forever.
Cardinal Brady, how could the church give comfort to its victims whilst
hiding the alleged perpetrator? Do you not see any ethical dilemmas with
that situation?

Each and every person, police, church officials, British and Irish
Republic government authorities had a duty to act. This wasn’t just a murder;
It was a massacre! Those who knew and did nothing aided and abetted Father
Chesney, if he did commit this act. They did not only obstruct a criminal investigation;
They shut it down. They obstructed justice.

It was a conspiracy of silence.

How many fellow priests on both sides of the border knew and
kept silent just as did many who knew of paedophile priests in
their ranks.

We do not know the truth about Father Chesney, or his role because
an authentic criminal investigation was blocked.

The victim’s families were denied justice, and the right to an ‘effective remedy’
as guaranteed under article 13 of the European Convention of Human Rights.

The actions of senior police officers and government authorities, on both sides
of the border spit in their ‘Obligation to respect human rights’ per article 1 of
the Convention. But, perhaps this matter needs to be addressed in that forum.

Cardinal Brady said “If there was sufficient evidence to link him to criminal
activity, he should have been arrested and questioned at the earliest opportunity,
like anyone else.” True. But, this is coming from a man who, in 1975 had children
sign an affidavit of silence after they reported being sexually assaulted by one
Brendan Smyth.

Smyth, like Chesney, went south of the border, and hid from police at Kilnacrott
Abbey much of the time. It was over 20 years from the ‘affidavit of silence’ till
he was brought to justice.

The Catholic Church hierarchy hides its criminals from the long arm of justice,
and the hierarchy operates like a joint criminal enterprise!


Wikipedia says that the Irish term for Claudy is Clóidigh which means
“washing river.” The Church did a Pontius Pilate on the bombing, and washed its
hands of the matter. Hear, see and speak no evil!