Disgraced cardinal ‘should not return’ to Scotland, says successor

SCOTLAND
Telegraph

THE new Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh has said he does not believe his disgraced predecessor, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, should return to Scotland.

By Auslan Cramb, Scottish Correspondent 15 Sep 2013

The cardinal, who admitted sexual misconduct with priests after resigning earlier this year, was ordered by the Vatican to leave Scotland in May for a period of spiritual renewal and penance.

He stood down following allegations made by three priests and a former priest of “inappropriate” behaviour in the 1980s, and later admitted his sexual conduct had “fallen beneath the standards” expected of him.

Monsignor Leo Cushley, a veteran Vatican diplomat who will be installed as the new archbishop on Saturday, said it was “not impossible” that the cardinal would return to Scotland one day, but he did not believe it was likely or desirable.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Sunday programme: “He is a free man in a free country so he can come back if we wants. But the Holy See will be the one to ask him to do whatever it is they intend.

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