Cardinal Seán Brady Former leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland,
Cardinal Seán Brady resigned from the position as leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland, and the Vatican accepted his resignation. Cardinal Seán Brady resigned on an account of child sex abuse scandals by clerical and his attempt to hide the case Reuters

Cardinal Seán Brady resigned from his position as the leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland, and the Vatican accepted his resignation.

Cardinal Seán Brady's term was beset with clerical child sex abuse scandals -- and he confessed that he helped cover up one case.

In 1975, when Brady was a young priest, he swore two teenage sex abuse victims to secrecy during an internal church meeting. The two boys were one of the countless victims of the infamous paedophile priest, Fr. Brendan Smyth.

Cardinal Brady, however, resigned on age grounds -- and not for his sex abuse cover-up. The canon law states that a bishop must resign from service as soon as he turns 75 years old, and the Pope decides whether to accept it. The Cardinal turned 75 last Aug. 16 and his resignation was approved by Pope Francis just within a month, which was deemed unusually fast.

Cardinal Brady was formally installed as Archbishop of Armagh in November 1996, as the successor to Cardinal Cahal Daly. He served the Catholic Church for over 17 years.

When Cardinal Brady became Primate of all Ireland, his tenure suffered a great deal of sex abuse scandals, and it was during the time when the Catholic Church as a whole was relentlessly plagued by clerical sex abuse controversies. Both the Cardinal's actions and indifference during that time got entangled in the Church's predicament. It was also during Brady's term when the Catholic Church in Ireland reevaluated its duties.

In 2010, when his 1975 cover-up of the sex abuse case surfaced, Cardinal Brady received numerous requests that he resign yet he stood his ground. Additionally, during police investigation, Cardinal Brady did not hand over evidence against Fr. Brendan Smyth, and this had set the paedophile priest free to continue with his sexual abuse on young boys until he was finally jailed in 1994.

A BBC investigation in 2012 exposed that Cardinal Brady knew of Smyth's other victims, including their names and addresses, which were given by the two victims that he swore to secrecy in 1975.

Cardinal Brady publicly apologized for his role in mismanaging the complaints against Smyth. The Cardinal also described himself as a "wounded healer," reports BBC, "who would, in future, prioritise the safety of children in the church."

Archbishop Eamon Martin, 52, was appointed as Cardinal Brady's successor.