The head of the Catholic Church in Ireland was closely involved in the recent settlement of a sex abuse case in Northern Ireland, where £45,000 was paid out to a victim in exchange for her silence, UTV revealed.
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On Wednesday, Cardinal Sean Brady said he was considering his position following revelations he failed to alert the authorities in 1975 about serial abuser Father Brendan Smyth.
The latest case to emerge involves a woman who alleges she was raped by Father Joseph Quinn of the Archdiocese of Armagh in 1997 when she was 17-years-old, and whose claim was settled out of court in the past few months.
Document
UTV obtained the draft document settling the claim, naming the victim, the alleged perpetrator and Cardinal Brady.
The terms of the contract show she was to be paid £45,000 by Fr Joseph Quinn to cover for damages and legal costs.
But there would be no acceptance of liability on the part of either defendant, and the victim would not be allowed to speak out about her allegations, particularly to the media.
In a statement, a spokesman for Cardinal Brady confirmed the Irish Primate met the victim's father "recently".
But Cardinal Brady insists he was not party to any confidentiality agreement.
"The complainant and Fr Quinn settled the case between themselves," a church statement said.
"Cardinal Brady was not involved in the discussions between the complainant and Fr Quinn other than to make it clear that he would not be a party to any confidentiality agreement between Fr Quinn and the complainant, that he intended to commence a canonical process and to invite the complainant to assist as a witness by giving evidence in that canonical process."
Allegations were made to the police by two young women aged 17 and 18 against Fr Joseph Quinn in 2001, the spokesman confirmed.
"The day following the police interview, Cardinal Brady suspended Fr Joseph Quinn from ministry as a priest, forbidding him to say Mass publicly, to hear confessions and to have unsupervised access to minors."
Police launched an investigation into the teenage girl's claims but the Public Prosecution Service concluded that there was insufficient evidence to bring charges.
The priest was tried on the other allegations and was acquitted in 2003.
But the Church insists Father Quinn remains suspended from ministry as a priest.
"Cardinal Brady has forbidden Father Quinn from wearing clerical attire."
'Bad bunch'
"(Cardinal Brady) should have been more upfront and more honest, saying as a matter of fact, you know what, there is another case that I've been involved in, in some ways," the victim, whose identity is known to UTV, said.
"If he's hidden what happened in 1975 and if he's hidden what's happened now, what else has actually been hidden?"
However, the victim said Cardinal Brady has been proactive in trying to move things forward over the last few months.
"I don't see any advantage for him to resign. He has proven to me over the last few months that he has taken some actions and perhaps he is the best person to move things forward.
"Who would replace him? He is the best of a bad bunch."
The founder of the victims group 'One in Four', Colm O'Gorman, told UTV the latest revelations raise a number of questions which Cardinal Brady needs to answer.
"He needs to explain why the confidentiality was necessary in the settlement of this case.
"More importantly, he may need to explain when he and the diocese became aware of the allegations against this individual priest; what their actions were; when and if the priest was removed from ministry and why the priest today appears to be still in a position where he plays a role in the community.
"Fine words just won't cut it anymore," Mr O'Gorman told UTV Live.
The Standards and Guidance document for the Catholic Church in Ireland, which was published last year, states that claims should be immediately passed to the relevant authorities and confidentiality cannot be assured either for the perpetrators of child abuse or the survivors.
Some of the most notorious abuse cases which have rocked the Catholic Church have taken place in Northern Ireland.
The Health Minister Michael McGimpsey has said an inquiry into child sex abuse in the region is now one of the options being considered at Stormont.
Mr McGimpsey told UTV the matter must be dealt with as a matter of urgency.
"It's important to say it's not just simply about clerical abuse it's about historical abuse, it's about abuse right across the board. That's what I have been looking at with my officials," Mr McGimpsey said.
"I will bring recommendations and options forward to the Executive in the near future.
"An inquiry is certainly one of the options we are looking at."
© UTV News