THE Catholic Church in Ireland was embroiled in fresh controversy last night, with senior clerics forced to defend their handling of two further abuse cases.
The revelations that two accused priests had their identity protected by confidentiality agreements came as primate Cardinal Sean Brady continued to face calls to resign over his role in secrecy oaths taken by two victims of a notorious paedophile churchman almost 35 years ago.
The latest cases to emerge saw Dr Brady and Bishop of Derry Seamus Hegarty involved in legal proceedings taken by two young women against members of their clergy.
Both ended with out-of-court settlements.
The accused priests paid £45,000 and £12,000 in damages respectively, without accepting liability, and the settlements included stipulations that the details of the cases were not made public.
