UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News
A former archbishop of Westminster says he is “saddened” by the resignation of Britain’s most senior Roman Catholic cleric, Cardinal Keith O’Brien.
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor said Cardinal O’Brien’s decision to step down was “up to his own conscience”.
Cardinal O’Brien has been accused of inappropriate behaviour towards priests in the 1980s – allegations he contests.
The ex-Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh will no longer take part in the election of the new Pope.
At a news conference on Tuesday, Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor was asked whether his fellow cardinal had been right to stand down.
“It was up to his own conscience that he stepped down. He wasn’t asked to, he decided to do that,” he said.
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