Tag Archives: Keith O’Brien

The BBC reports: Cardinal Keith O’Brien, formerly the Catholic Church’s most senior cleric in Britain, has died at the age of 80. The cardinal, who resigned as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh in 2013 after apologising for sexual misconduct, was hurt in a recent fall. His successor administered the last rites on Friday, on the eve of the cardinal’s …

Via the Huffington Post: Scottish Cardinal Keith O’Brien, who was accused of sexually harassing several men in a scandal that exploded on the eve of the 2013 conclave that elected Pope Francis, has renounced the “rights and privileges” of his office but gets to keep his prestigious title, the Vatican announced Friday (March 20). O’Brien did not take part in …

Back in February, Cardinal Keith O’Brien resigned two days after four priests accused him of “inappropriate contact” with them while they were seminary students in the 1980s. O’Brien later issued a murky confession about behavior “below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal.” Today we learn that O’Brien halted an inquiry into sexual abuses by other …

Scotland’s Herald reports that one of the priests who brought about the downfall of Cardinal Keith O’Brien was once his long-term boyfriend. The man left the priesthood in the middle of the last decade but rejoined and is living on the continent in a post the cardinal helped him secure. The complainant is known to have been in regular telephone …

A fifth priest has come forward to claim that disgraced Cardinal Keith O’Brien put the moves on him the very day he got the little red hat. The cardinal is alleged to have assaulted a priest at the Scots College in Rome in October 2003, hours after being awarded the red mitre by Pope John Paul II. The priest, who …

Delicious.

O’Brien has already confessed and resigned, so one presumes the investigation will be aimed at rooting out all of his victims. The Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, the Vatican council charged with confronting major transgressions by clergy, will likely launch an investigation into Cardinal Keith O’Brien once the new Pope is chosen. The Catholic Church in Scotland has been …

“Powerful closeted gay men, driven by an almost pathological fear of being exposed, many times engage in two often destructive activities: 1) speaking out against gays and homosexuality, or courting those who are anti-gay, in a desperate attempt to show they are not gay themselves, and 2) seeking sex through risky channels, feeling they have no choice because they’re unable …

“The Cardinal is a troubled man. I pity him. He needs counselling to help him deal with his decades of deception, and to come to terms with his obvious self-loathing and deeply repressed homosexual desires.  O’Brien’s statement falls well short of what we would expect from a spiritual leader. He has failed to apologize for the hatred and harm he …

The Scottish journalist who broke the story believes there will be more revelations to come.

“In recent days certain allegations which have been made against me have become public. Initially, their anonymous and non-specific nature led me to contest them. However, I wish to take this opportunity to admit that there have been times that my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal. To those I …

The Scotsman reports an interesting claim today. The Vatican knew of allegations against Cardinal Keith O’Brien five months ago, it was claimed today. Reports said a priest lodged a complaint in October about “inappropriate behaviour” by the former Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh in 2001. The priest is said to have written directly to Rome because he did not …

Catholic Vote, where NOM’s “cultural affairs director” Thomas Peters occasionally blogs, today posted a call for pedophile-shielding Cardinal Roger Mahony to withdraw from the coming papal conclave.  The post notes the “credible accusations” made against British Cardinal Keith O’Brien, who yesterday resigned, and urges Mahony to follow O’Brien’s example. Tom Crowe writes: I’ll not get into the moral balancing act …

“Cardinal Keith O’Brien of Scotland will not be going to Rome to join the conclave because he does not want to distract from the proceedings. He has resigned following allegations by three priests and one former priest that he was involved in improper conduct. He says the accusations are untrue. Is this another example of the ‘Lavender Mafia’ at work? …

Cardinal Keith O’Brien has resigned two days after four priests accused him of “inappropriate contact” with them while they were seminary students in the 1980s. Via BBC News: Britain’s most senior Roman Catholic cleric, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, is stepping down as leader of the Scottish Catholic Church. It follows allegations – which he contests – of inappropriate behaviour towards priests …