Priests, Abuse and Vatican Conspiracy with Fr. Thomas Doyle and Abuse Survivor Helen McGonigle

Published on Feb 19, 2013

We speak to two guests that offer two complimentary perspectives on the ongoing sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church: First, Fr. Thomas Doyle, speaks about the upper echelons of conspiracy in the Vatican that have enabled abuse to go on untreated.

Then we hear from Helen McGonigle, who had been a victim of priest Brendan Smyth–a man that had been moved time and time again by the church and abused hundreds of children in his years as a priest.

GUEST BIO:
Helen McGonigle is an attorney from Brookfield, Connecticut who has become an advocate for survivors of clergy abuse. As a child, she was abused by Brendan Smyth, a notorious pedophilic Catholic priest who abused children on two continents for several decades. McGonigle’s story became internationally known when it was featured in a documentary by Chris Moore, a journalist in Northern Ireland. The revelations of Smyth’s crimes and the subsequent cover up of those crimes by church officials created an outcry that has had ramifications for both Irish clerical and secular officials.

Thomas Doyle was ordained a Dominican priest in 1970 in Dubuque, Iowa. He did graduate studies in philosophy, and theology at the Aquinas Institute of Philosophy and Theology and political science and Soviet Studies at the University of Wisconsin. He pursued further graduate work in Canon Law at the Gregorian University, Rome, Catholic University of America, the University of Ottawa and St. Paul’s University, Ottawa. He was awarded a Doctorate in Canon Law in 1978. In addition Father Doyle studied addictions therapy at the Naval School of Health Sciences and is a fully certified Alcohol, Drug and Addictions therapist. He holds MA degrees in philosophy, theology, administration, Canon Law and political science as well as his doctorate in Canon Law.

He has written several books and articles on a variety of subjects related to Church law and practice. Included among these are one book and twelve articles on the clergy abuse crisis. He co-authored Sex, Priests and Secret Codes with Richard Sipe and Patrick Wall. Tom Doyle has lectured extensively throughout the U.S., in Canada and in Europe on the clergy abuse issue.

He has been recognized for his work in the area of clergy sexual abuse by Voice of the Faithful which awarded him their first “Priest of Integrity Award” at the first Voice of the Faithful Conference in July 2002. He also received the “Cavallo Award for Moral Integrity” in 1992 and the “Isaac Hecker Award” from the Paulist Fathers in January, 2003. He received the “Community Hero Award” from the Association of Trial Lawyers of America in July, 2005 and the “Red Badge of Courage Award” from SNAP in July, 2007. In June of 2003 he was issued an official commendation from the Dominican Fathers for his “prophetic work in drawing attention to clergy sexual abuse and for advocating the rights of victims and abusers.