Betrayal Of Trust (Brendan Smyth Drama)

JonathanAnon

I watched this online over the weekend and it's a great piece of television.. Truly shocking stuff from the Church..

milehip1

You've stronger stomach than me, I tuned in at an edgy moment and lasted 15 seconds.

Aldebaran

Watching it on RTÉ1 now, it makes me feel equal parts rage, disgust, and horror.

Sunnyisland

Watching it now,heavy stuff. :-(

Darlughda

Although the acting is a bit dodge, it is absolutely great to see a drama aired on RTE illustrating the story of one of so many who went through this rape and torture.

It was a forced reality for so many children, tough shít if anyone finds it unpalatable viewing. Its not as even we are made to watch a dramatisation of these poor vulnerable children actually getting raped and tortured.
Whereas all the children who have and are going through this have to endure it in reality again and again in real life.

The denial and silence was, and very much still is the oppressive force against these victims and their families trying to come to terms with living life after such abnormal and evil crimes against them and their bodies.

oppenheimer1

Watched a couple of minutes of this. Stomach churning stuff, had to change it.

Skid

The BBC showed this in two parts, maybe RTE shold have done the same - It's over 2 hours long and it's a tough ask to watch it in one sitting.

A good Drama, one that needed to be made.

irish147

shocking tv...... the church here doers not care.....

0/00%

Skid wrote: »

The BBC showed this in two parts, maybe RTE shold have done the same - It's over 2 hours long and it's a tough ask to watch it in one sitting.

A good Drama, one that needed to be made.

JonathanAnon

Skid wrote: »

The BBC showed this in two parts, maybe RTE shold have done the same - It's over 2 hours long and it's a tough ask to watch it in one sitting. A good Drama, one that needed to be made.

Hi Skid.. the full thing is up on the tube, each episode split in to four parts.. so you could watch the second part online if you want to watch it all in one sitting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBcdpVlOV8Q

I cant understand how Smyth didnt get beaten to death with a baseball bat by one of the families, though even though that would have been too good for the b*st*rd..

JonathanAnon

oh and btw, that priest in the current scene (and pictured in the youtube still above).. Father Daniel Curran..

Priest sentenced over sex abuse

A priest who admitted sexually abusing a young boy scout has been given an 18 month suspended sentence. Father Daniel Curran pleaded guilty at Downpatrick Crown Court to indecently assaulting the boy on two occasions between 14 June 1986 and 15 June 1989.

The fact an excuse for a human like Smyth could do such awful acts is bad enough, but the fact the useless w*nkers both North and South of the border stood by and done nothing is disgraceful and even worse. I hope they rot in hell the whole lot of them

Skid

By coincidence BBC1 are showing a similarly titled Paedophile documentary right now

An Abuse of Trust Roger Cook provides an update on an investigation he conducted more than 30 years ago into the activities of paedophile Derek Slade, formerly the headmaster of a school in Suffolk, who is alleged to have committed further offences in India and Africa

Depressing stuff :mad:

Callan57

Sick, sick shower of bastards .... I'm so angry watching this

Sunnyisland

It is very hard for victims of any sexual abuse to be watching this, Being believed by people is one of the hardest parts.

Tomk1

Truely shocking, and keeps getting worse, this is hard to watch.

basillarkin

Still watching this, terrible terrible stuff, the cover ups are unbelievable. I can't believe he was not extradited by the attroney generals office.

JonathanAnon

Tomk1 wrote: »

Truely shocking, and keeps getting worse, this is hard to watch.

I have to be honest, I was kind of getting abuse fatigue from all the coverage in the media and the Ferns/Cloyne/etc etc reports ... but this brings it right back in to frame the horrible actions that were perpatrated on the most vulnerable in our society and protected by those whole held themselves in judgement on the rest of us...

The Papal Nuncio should have been thrown out, and the State should be seizing the Churches' property to pay the >1 Billion Euro that the State is paying in compensation. (Under the agreement made with Michael Woods, compensation payments were meant to be paid 50% by the State and 50% by the Church)..

Callan57

It's good to remind people again what an investigative reporter with the bit between his teeth can accomplish.
Horrendous but compulsive watching

Imagine only for he snuffed it in prison he would have only got 4 years at the very maximum :mad:

Whats harder to watch is not even the fact all these children were molested but the legal system both north and south of the border and the rotten catholic church who swept this under the carpet.

JonathanAnon

Harry Whelehan portrayed as pompous and negligent.. he wont like that..

Dick Spring looks like one of the 1916 guys..

What a w*nker Albert Reynolds is. The jobs for the boys culture must not suffer over a blunder by the AG office regarding one of the most notorious child abuse cases, clerical or other, the island of ireland has ever encountered.

Darlughda

To think this is only one story out of how many??

bob50

Youve got to remember the church and the govt are the same sides of the same coin

I think this has only changed recently ie this year

This is why the church could hide dodgy priests and know they wouldnt be touched by the state

JonathanAnon

Darlughda wrote: »

To think this is only one story out of how many??

Well they say that Smyth had 100s of victims..

Darlughda

Darlughda wrote: »

To think this is only one story out of how many??

Frightening stuff really.

More victims may even come forward on the strength of programs like these.

Chris Moore in my opinion is a treasure for the work he done. He went the extra mile to expose the perpetrators for what they were and all the time he respected the privacy and dignity of the victims.

bob50

Just a side note did anyone catch the name of the actor who played Fr Smyth and the ruc detective ?

johngalway

After watching that it's difficult to type a reasoned response. Talking to a friend of mine last week she noted how older people here must feel betrayed by the church they put their faith into. Me, I never had much time for them. I don't and can't know how the many victims of abuse feel. However, I feel it is beyond time the church was stripped of its assets, quite literally and quite completely. Let them return to their so often preached position of humility. That the judiciary failed the victims comes as little surprise to me now, knowing as I do that law and justice and completely different things which have no relation whatsoever. The politicians were, as usual, their usual selves. Do nothing least they offended anyone and risk losing votes.

Everyone failed the victims, and a lot are still failing them.

jos28

Tough to watch but compelling viewing. It is hard to believe how far the complacency and cover-ups extended. Covering the bast*** in concrete after his death was too good for him. I know someone who interviewed him after he was handed over to the authorities in the south. When questioned about his victims, he allegedly said that he could not be expected to remember them all. I am damn sure they all remember him. I found it even more difficult to watch in light of the Cloyne Report.

johngalway

bob50 wrote: »

Just a side note did anyone catch the name of the actor who played Fr Smyth and the ruc detective ?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1864275/

JonathanAnon

bob50 wrote: »

Just a side note did anyone catch the name of the actor who played Fr Smyth and the ruc detective ?

Ian Beattie is the guy who played Smyth..

Full cast list http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1864275/

laughter189

He was buried during the night and covered in concrete

---

They were not going to take any chances .

T2daK

If this guy got out of prison alive, he wouldn't have lasted a minute

T2daK

T2daK wrote: »

If this guy got out of prison alive, he wouldn't have lasted a minute

That fu*king monastery in Cavan would have sheltered him and protected him no doubt.

mossyc123

johngalway wrote: »

After watching that it's difficult to type a reasoned response. Talking to a friend of mine last week she noted how older people here must feel betrayed by the church they put their faith into. Me, I never had much time for them. I don't and can't know how the many victims of abuse feel. However, I feel it is beyond time the church was stripped of its assets, quite literally and quite completely. Let them return to their so often preached position of humility. That the judiciary failed the victims comes as little surprise to me now, knowing as I do that law and justice and completely different things which have no relation whatsoever. The politicians were, as usual, their usual selves. Do nothing least they offended anyone and risk losing votes.

Everyone failed the victims, and a lot are still failing them.

On the one hand you feel sorry for the older people who have lost faith in the Church but on the other hand you want it stripped of all its assets.

Answer me this...

Why the hell should me, my family and my community be left without a Church just because of the actions of a few?

What exactly would that solve?

How is it any different to shutting down the hospitals if a HSE employee abuses children or shutting down a school if a teacher does.

The reactionary anti-Church (while ignoring the role of every apparatus of the State) BS has gone far enough IMO.

JonathanAnon

mossyc123 wrote: »

Why the hell should me, my family and my community be left without a Church just because of the actions of a few?

Well one thing I always wondered about people who still go to Church.. How do you feel about the money you give to the Church being used to pay off the victims of priests that they sheltered ?? I wouldnt give them one cent..

eor123

mossyc123 wrote: »

On the one hand you feel sorry for the older people who have lost faith in the Church but on the other hand you want it stripped of all its assets.

Answer me this...

Why the hell should me, my family and my community be left without a Church just because of the actions of a few?

What exactly would that solve?

How is it any different to shutting down the hospitals if a HSE employee abuses children or shutting down a school if a teacher does.

The reactionary anti-Church (while ignoring the role of every apparatus of the State) BS has gone far enough IMO.

Because It was common knowledge amoung alot of priests (not all) at the time that this was going on and they didnt do anything about it.

If a teacher did it Im sure their collegues would not keep quite just like a nurse or doctor. the church in general tried to cover it up.

mossyc123

JonathanAnon wrote: »

Well one thing I always wondered about people who still go to Church.. How do you feel about the money you give to the Church being used to pay off the victims of priests that they sheltered ?? I wouldnt give them one cent..

Good use of the money IMO.

Would be better off going to East Africa at the moment but these crimes have been committed and both Church and State need to share the burden of remittance.

johngalway

mossyc123 wrote: »

On the one hand you feel sorry for the older people who have lost faith in the Church but on the other hand you want it stripped of all its assets.

Answer me this...

Why the hell should me, my family and my community be left without a Church just because of the actions of a few?

What exactly would that solve?

It's a fair point to say some people would be discommoded. The "church" can always rent, like the rest of the world.

The reason I say they should be asset stripped is because the church were involved up to their neck. They moved "problem" priests, they covered up abuse, they sheltered them, they tried to influence victims and families for their own ends through abusing their moral position.

And all of that is continuing to this very day.

People do not need the show of the church to be close to their God.

mossyc123 wrote: »

How is it any different to shutting down the hospitals if a HSE employee abuses children or shutting down a school if a teacher does.

Should the HSE or the Department of Education be complicit in those abuses they should also be fully accountable.

The church is a completely different entity given it takes it's orders from the Vatican, a foreign state with it's own aims.

mossyc123 wrote: »

The reactionary anti-Church (while ignoring the role of every apparatus of the State) BS has gone far enough IMO.

I mentioned the failings of the politicians, I mentioned the failings of the judiciary. You seem to have ignored that part of my post, then attacked me over leaving it out...

mossyc123

eor123 wrote: »

Because It was common knowledge amoung alot of priests (not all) at the time that this was going on and they didnt do anything about it.

If a teacher did it Im sure their collegues would not keep quite just like a nurse or doctor. the church in general tried to cover it up.

(1) "Common Knowledge" Was it yeah?

(2) Not nowadays but back a few years ago can you be so sure?

sinjin_smythe

mossyc123 wrote: »

On the one hand you feel sorry for the older people who have lost faith in the Church but on the other hand you want it stripped of all its assets.

Answer me this...

Why the hell should me, my family and my community be left without a Church just because of the actions of a few?

What exactly would that solve?

How is it any different to shutting down the hospitals if a HSE employee abuses children or shutting down a school if a teacher does.

The reactionary anti-Church (while ignoring the role of every apparatus of the State) BS has gone far enough IMO.

I would feel a lot better to choose you losing your church and possibly your faith then having the church go on and continue the denial of all the victims of peodofile priests

washman3

Deleted User wrote: »

What a w*nker Albert Reynolds is. The jobs for the boys culture must not suffer over a blunder by the AG office regarding one of the most notorious child abuse cases, clerical or other, the island of ireland has ever encountered.

well said indeed. just goes to show the way FF cronyism worked even at the cost of innocent children being brutally raped and abused. i hope that the clowns that go out canvassing for them watched this. disgusted.:mad:

mossyc123

weedhead wrote: »

I would feel a lot better to choose you losing your church and possibly your faith then having the church go on and continue the denial of all the victims of peodofile priests

Nothing is being denied anymore.

Asset stripping is just vengeful and pointless IMO.

mossyc123

mossyc123 wrote: »

On the one hand you feel sorry for the older people who have lost faith in the Church but on the other hand you want it stripped of all its assets.

Answer me this...

Why the hell should me, my family and my community be left without a Church just because of the actions of a few?

What exactly would that solve?

How is it any different to shutting down the hospitals if a HSE employee abuses children or shutting down a school if a teacher does.

The reactionary anti-Church (while ignoring the role of every apparatus of the State) BS has gone far enough IMO.

When these things come to light, heads should roll at the very least. Its true that cover ups might occur in more organisations then the church and also negligence, with the Baby P case in North London being a prime example, but there is no denying it, the church is by far and large the guiltiest organisation of brushing child abuse under the carpet.

eor123

mossyc123 wrote: »

(1) "Common Knowledge" Was it yeah?

Well if you watched the drama, Yes, If u recall the bit where the two young priests are out the back of the church and apparently it was common knowledge back then about Smyth was doing.

mossyc123

mossyc123 wrote: »

(1) "Common Knowledge" Was it yeah?

(2) Not nowadays but back a few years ago can you be so sure?

Well after watching the program when the two lads went for a smoke, one of them said he was shocked to find out his colleague had no idea this was going on

mossyc123

johngalway wrote: »

It's a fair point to say some people would be discommoded. The "church" can always rent, like the rest of the world.

The reason I say they should be asset stripped is because the church were involved up to their neck. They moved "problem" priests, they covered up abuse, they sheltered them, they tried to influence victims and families for their own ends through abusing their moral position.

And all of that is continuing to this very day.

People do not need the show of the church to be close to their God.

Some people do.

Just saying "ah well, shure we'll sell the Churches off and disconnect the Church from any contact with the people" and then thinking that that is going to be the solution to this problem is reactionary and naive IMO.

Should the HSE or the Department of Education be complicit in those abuses they should also be fully accountable.

The church is a completely different entity given it takes it's orders from the Vatican, a foreign state with it's own aims.

The Church were at the time effectively an arm of the State themselves.

The State delegated the task of managing welfare and care to the Church instead of setting up a proper State system.

The Church itself was only to happy to take on this task at the time as it meant it had a greater influence on the population.

Many people got great Education and Health care but ultimately it was a failed system as it was infiltrated by animals like Smyth and others who used the cloak of the Church to commit crimes.

I mentioned the failings of the politicians, I mentioned the failings of the judiciary. You seem to have ignored that part of my post, then attacked me over leaving it out...

I was talking in generalities, not directly attacking you.

Apologies if it appeared that way.

The reality of it is though only the most nuanced discussions contain any reference to the inaction of the apparatus of the State.

The general Joe Soap on the street (judging by the sh!te i'm reading on here and other sources) just solely blames the Church for all and any abuse that ever occured.

mossyc123

eor123 wrote: »

Well if you watched the drama, Yes, If u recall the bit where the two young priests are out the back of the church and apparently it was common knowledge back then about Smyth was doing.

Deleted User wrote: »

Well after watching the program when the two lads went for a smoke, one of them said he was shocked to find out his colleague had no idea this was going on

If you can show me anything to demonstrate that it was common knowledge which isn't an acted out bit of a TV drama i'll stand corrected.

johngalway

mossyc123 wrote: »

The Church were at the time effectively an arm of the State themselves.

The State delegated the task of managing welfare and care to the Church instead of setting up a proper State system.

The Church itself was only to happy to take on this task at the time as it meant it had a greater influence on the population.

And you accuse me of being naive? The Catholic Church for the majority of the lifetime of this state has been the wielder of power in this state. It is only in the very recent past that they are being slowly brought to book for their crimes.

mossyc123 wrote: »

Many people got great Education and Health care but ultimately it was a failed system as it was infiltrated by animals like Smyth and others who used the cloak of the Church to commit crimes.

Seriously, did you watch that programme at all? Abuse, and it's cover up and denial has been endemic in the Catholic Church.

In a wider sense it's not just priests, look at the Industrial schools run by monks, look at the Magdalene Laundaries run by nuns. Abuse and cover up of abuse all by the church.

eor123

mossyc123 wrote: »

If you can show me anything to demonstrate that it was common knowledge which isn't an acted out bit of a TV drama i'll stand corrected.

The drama wouldn't have included the piece on it if they didnt think it was truthful,, I think thats enough.

Callan57

Watching this prog made me wonder again why would a parent, even back in those so called innocent times, allow a priest upstairs to a child's bedroom?

My parents were old style Irish Catholics but I couldn't in my wildest dreams imagine my dad or mam allowing that.

And furthermore I cannot possibly understand how any parent today would allow their child to be an altar server.

I don't mean that as a criticism of the parents just that I find it very hard to understand.

eor123

Callan57 wrote: »

Watching this prog made me wonder again why would a parent, even back in those so called innocent times, allow a priest upstairs to a child's bedroom?

My parents were old style Irish Catholics but I couldn't in my wildest dreams imagine my dad or mam allowing that.

And furthermore I cannot possibly understand how any parent today would allow their child to be an altar server.

I don't mean that as a criticism of the parents just that I find it very hard to understand.

I suppose because they just had a massive amount of trust, and they were ''priests'' - they could do no harm. Parents didn't think anymore about it, as they probably thought the preist was giving a blessing or something, they just had too much trust and people were blinded by it.