Cardinal accused of ‘inappropriate acts’

Britain’s most senior Roman Catholic priest has been accused of inappropriate behaviour in claims stretching back more than three decades.

Cardinal Keith O’Brien contested the allegations and is taking legal advice, the Scottish Catholic Church said in a statement.

Cardinal O’Brien, the 74-year-old leader of the Scottish Catholic Church, is due to retire next month. He is Britain’s only representative in the election for the successor to Pope Benedict XVI, who is standing down on February 28.

The cardinal was due to celebrate Mass in St Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh to celebrate the eight years of Pope Benedict holding office on Sunday but he did not appear.

The allegations, reported in The Observer newspaper, are the latest in unsavoury claims that threaten to damage the reputation of the Catholic church ahead of the conclave to decide the next pope.

Three serving priests and one former priest from the diocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh claimed Cardinal O’Brien committed “inappropriate acts” as far back as the 1980s.

The priests have complained to the pope’s ambassador to Britain, nuncio Antonio Mennini, demanding the resignation of the cardinal, who has been the archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh since 1985.

Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said the pope had been informed and that the issue was in his hands.

Cardinal O’Brien stepped back from some of his responsibilities last year in readiness for his retirement. He had been an outspoken opponent of same-sex relationships, opposing Scottish government proposals to legalise same-sex marriage. Stonewall, the gay rights charity, last year named him its “Bigot of the Year”, sparking complaints from the Catholic church.

In an interview with the BBC last week, Cardinal O’Brien said priests should be able to marry and have a family, as many struggled with celibacy.

He said: “I’d be very happy if others had the opportunity of considering whether or not they could or should be married.”

Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr programme on Sunday, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the former archbishop of Westminster, said he was “very sad” to hear about the allegations against Cardinal O’Brien.

He said: “I think Cardinal O’Brien is very near to retirement and I suspect that his resignation, which is already with the Pope, because he’s nearing 75 and every bishop has to retire – then presumably that will be accepted.”

But Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor added that the church’s response to such allegations was now more effective. “I think nowadays there is a sense of transparency, and allegations made against a person – whatever they are but particularly about abuse – are examined clearly and honestly and appropriate action is taken,” he said.