British government and Church in Northern Ireland bombing cover-up

We are watch this British government and Church in Northern Ireland bombing cover-up
Police Ombudsman's report shows cardinal involved in shielding priest

Claudy, Northern Ireland: The British government, the police and the Catholic Church colluded to protect a priest suspected of involvement in a 1972 bombing in Northern Ireland that killed nine people, an official report said Tuesday.

The Police Ombudsman's report revealed that a cardinal was involved in moving Father James Chesney out of British-ruled Northern Ireland, highlighting anew the way the Church hierarchy shielded priests from allegations of criminal activity.
The inquiry showed that Secretary of State for Northern Ireland William Whitelaw had a private meeting with Cardinal William Conway, the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, in which they discussed the possibility of transferring Chesney.
"I accept that 1972 was one of the worst years of the ‘Troubles' and that the arrest of a priest might well have aggravated the security situation," Police Ombudsman Al Hutchinson said.
But "the decision failed those who were murdered, injured and bereaved in the bombing."
No one was ever charged or convicted for the triple car bomb attack on the village of Claudy, but the republican guerrilla group the IRA was assumed to be responsible. Those killed included a nine-year-old-girl and two teenage boys.
Chesney, a priest in a neighbouring parish, always denied any involvement, though the police had intelligence that he was the leader of the IRA in south Derry and a sniffer dog found traces of explosive in his car when he was stopped at a checkpoint in September 1972.
Pressure
The current head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, who has been under pressure to resign over his role in concealing sex abuse cases, said it was regrettable that the bombing was not investigated properly but denied the Church took part in a cover-up.
"He [Cardinal Conway] was faced with an impossible situation but his primary consideration would be the prevention of any further acts of violence," said Cardinal Sean Brady.
"The actions of Cardinal Conway or any other church authority did not prevent the possibility of future arrest and questioning of Father Chesney."
The British government's representative in Northern Ireland apologised for the investigation of the Claudy bombings.
"I am profoundly sorry that Father Chesney was not properly investigated for his suspected involvement in this hideous crime, and that the victims and their families have been denied justice," Owen Paterson said in a statement.
The priest was transferred to Donegal in the Irish Republic in 1973 and died there in 1980.
July 1972 was the bloodiest month in the bloodiest year of three decades of conflict in Northern Ireland and the Claudy bombings came six months after British soldiers shot dead 13 unarmed civilians in a civil rights march in Londonderry.

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