SCOTLAND
The Guardian
Severin Carrell, Scotland correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Friday 22 March 2013
Cardinal Keith O’Brien had a long-term physical relationship with one of the priests whose complaints against him led to his sacking as Scotland’s most senior Roman Catholic, church sources claim.
Officials in the Scottish Catholic church claim that the priest, who is alleged to be the first man to complain to the Vatican about O’Brien, left the priesthood in the mid-2000s but has since returned to the church.
These officials have told the Herald they believe that the man complained to the Vatican last winter in revenge for O’Brien’s outspoken attacks on homosexuality and gay marriage, just as his career was coming to an end. He described homosexuality as a “moral degradation” and gay marriage as “harmful”.
Immediately after that priest, who had known O’Brien for decades, submitted his accusations to the Vatican in late 2012, the cardinal was summoned to Rome and effectively sacked. Then Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh and seen as the de facto leader of Scotland’s 750,000 Catholics, O’Brien was told privately by Vatican officials that he would be expected to retire on his 75th birthday, which fell on 17 March.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.