Vatican Accepts Resignation Of Cardinal Who Confessed To Sex With Priests

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 the March 2013 conclave and now he will be barred from any future conclaves; at age 77, he would have lost his voting eligibility at age 80. Francis had been under pressure to take some action against O’Brien since one of his victims revealed that an internal church report on O’Brien had been sent to Rome and was “hot enough to burn the varnish” off the pope’s desk. At least five men – three priests, a former priest and a former seminarian – accused O’Brien of either sexually harassing them or pressuring them into sex, in allegations that went back to the 1980s. O’Brien was accused of being sexually active up through at least 2009.

Following the initial accusations, Bill Donohue declared that O'Brien was the target of false charges from the "lavender mafia." And then O'Brien confessed: "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 have offended, I apologise and ask forgiveness."

Two weeks after that murky confession, the Scotland Herald revealed that O'Brien's chief accuser had been his long-term boyfriend. In August 2013 it was revealed that O'Brien had thwarted investigations into sexual abuses committed by priests under his command. And yet he gets to keep his red hat. Take that shocked look off your face.

SCOTLAND: Disgraced Cardinal Keith O'Brien Halted Sexual Abuse Inquiries

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 priests over a year before he resigned.

The Bishops' Conference of Scotland commissioned a report into allegations of abuse in 2011 but it was halted the following year when Cardinal O'Brien, then president of the conference, withdrew his support. His opposition to an inquiry into Church-related abuse allegations was revealed by the retired archbishop of Glasgow, Mario Conti, in a letter to the Catholic newspaper The Tablet. Mr Conti wrote: "It was the intention of all but one member of the Bishops' Conference to commission an independent examination of the historical cases we had on file in all of our respective dioceses and publish the results, but this was delayed by the objection of the then president of the conference; without full participation of all the dioceses the exercise would have been faulty."

RELATED: After O'Brien's resigned, one of his accusers, a former priest, revealed that he had been O'Brien's long-term boyfriend and had outed him because he was angry about O'Brien's opposition to same-sex marriage.

SCOTLAND: Cardinal O'Brien's Accuser Was Once His Long-Term Boyfriend

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 contact with Cardinal O'Brien until recently and was a frequent visitor to St Benets, his official residence in Edinburgh's Morningside. It is understood the cardinal confessed to the relationship after it was recently revealed there had been several complaints to the Vatican about his sexual behaviour towards priests in the 1980s. It is thought to be part of his reference to his sexual conduct as "a priest, a bishop and a cardinal".

The Herald further reports that the other complaining priests were angry about his hypocritical stance on gay relationships and same-sex marriage.

All those who complained about Cardinal O'Brien and alleged they had been abused by him were known to him for decades. At least two are known to have been in same-sex relationships and had become exasperated at double standards in his statements about gay marriage. In the six months building up to him being forced to stand down last month, the cardinal had been under some pressure from priests to tone down the rhetoric. However, his statements, such as describing homosexuality as a "moral degradation", were a tipping point for those previously close to him.

SCOTLAND: Priest Claims "O'Brien Groped Me The Day He Became Cardinal"

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 is Scottish but now based in London, made a formal complaint to the Vatican's Congregation of Bishops last September, after which Cardinal O'Brien was summoned immediately to Rome. The complaint, which was dealt with by Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Quebec, who was one of the early front-runners this week to become Pope, was the first which eventually led to the cleric's downfall and is not from one of the four complainers whose allegations were made public last month. It is understood the complaint involved an attempt to grope the priest, who was known to Cardinal O'Brien. Alcohol had been consumed at an event in the Scots College attended by many priests who had travelled to Rome especially for his elevation. Scots based at the Vatican also attended.

Also yesterday another man claimed that O'Brien kissed and groped him while he was a teenaged trainee for the priesthood.  We're still waiting for Bill Donohue to follow up his claim that O'Brien was targeted by the "Lavender Mafia."

Headline Of The Day

Delicious.

Vatican To Investigate Cardinal O'Brien

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 plunged into crisis after the Cardinal admitted in a brief statement on Sunday evening that allegations against him from three current priests and one former clergyman that he sexually molested them had some substance. After initially threatening the journalist who broke the story with legal action, O’Brien admitted in his weekend statement that his sexual conduct “had fallen below the standards expected of me”.

The investigation likely won't begin until after the new emperor is placed on the jewel-encrusted golden throne.

Signorile On Cardinal Keith O'Brien

"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 to freely have sexual encounters via public, every day social situations, like dating or going to bar or public places.

"We've seen this over and over again: the homophobic hypocrite caught trying to have sex in public restroom stalls or posting nude photos online. Another way the powerful and closeted seek sex, however, is by engaging in workplace sexual harassment and abuse against men who are compromised (sometimes, but not always, closeted and conflicted themselves) and fearful of being fired from their jobs if they rebuff sexual advances." - Michelangelo Signorile, writing for the Huffington Post.

HomoQuotable - Peter Tatchell

"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 caused the LGBT community. I urge the Cardinal to show true remorse for his homophobia and hypocrisy by saying sorry to the LGBT community for the hatred and harm he has caused - and by publicly repenting his homophobia. He should make amends by dropping his opposition to marriage equality and by beginning a new gay-affirmative ministry to LGBT Catholics." - British activist Peter Tatchell on the confession of Cardinal Keith O'Brien. (Via Gay Star News)

BBC News On Cardinal Keith O'Brien

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

Cardinal Keith O'Brien Confesses: Yes, I Was Totally Nailing All Those Priests

"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 have offended, I apologise and ask forgiveness. To the Catholic Church and people of Scotland, I also apologise. I will now spend the rest of my life in retirement. I will play no further part in the public life of the Catholic Church in Scotland." - Cardinal Keith O'Brien, in a statement released today.

RELATED: Last year the British LGBT rights group Stonewall named O'Brien their "Bigot Of The Year" after he denounced marriage equality and compared gay relationships to slavery and child abuse.

CLAIM: Vatican Knew Five Months Ago About Cardinal O'Brien's Gayness

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 think he could trust the church hierarchy in Scotland to handle the matter.

His claim is said to have been taken seriously and led to the Vatican contacting Cardinal O’Brien and a “deal” being brokered by Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Montreal for the departure of the leader of Scotland’s Catholics. Cardinal O’Brien quit as archbishop on Monday following revelations at the weekend about allegations from three other priests and one former priest of inappropriate behaviour dating back to the 1980s. The cardinal contests the allegations.

This is the fifth priest claiming to have had sex or "inappropriate contact" with the Cardinal.

Catholic Vote Calls For Cardinal Mahony To Withdraw From Papal Conclave

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 of “which action is worse, inappropriate advances toward seminarians and other priests or shielding an abuser,” because neither is remotely acceptable, or even rationalize-able-because-of-the-times, conduct for a prelate. But if O’Brien so quickly and simply removes himself out of a desire to protect the Church from the taint of his involvement, why cannot Mahony see the virtue in that action also? To be sure, Mahony has the right to attend the conclave as a cardinal of the Church younger than 80 years old, and I have defended that right to others who think he ought not have that right. But having a right to do something and exercising that right are different things.

RELATED: NOM has three times cited O'Brien's campaign against same-sex marriage in Britain, but remains silent on the current scandal.

Bill Donohue: The Lavender Mafia Brought Down Cardinal Keith O'Brien

"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?

"Consider this. We don’t know the names of the four men making the accusations because the British newspaper behind this story, The Observer, won’t release them; the details of what allegedly happened have not been disclosed (all we know are vague statements about 'inappropriate' and 'unwanted' contact); the four accusers waited over 30 years to come forward before coordinating their joint charges.

"Cardinal Keith O’Brien must be considered innocent until proven guilty. But we don’t need to wait any longer to conclude that the British media have discredited themselves again (they do so regularly with all matters Catholic). To withhold the names of the accusers, and the details of what allegedly happened (dating back to 1980), without ever allowing the accused to rebut the charges, is despicable. Am I alone in picking up the scent of lavender in the air?" - Catholic League blowhard Bill Donohue, who should be doing cartwheels over the news that a Catholic official has only been accused of having sex with adults.

Tweet Of The Day: Dan Savage

BREAKING: Accused Cardinal Keith O'Brien Resigns As Archbishop Of Scotland

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 dating from the 1980s. In a statement, he apologised to those he had offended during his ministry. The cardinal confirmed he would not take part in the election for a successor to the Pope - leaving Britain unrepresented in the election. Cardinal O'Brien said in a statement he had already tendered his resignation as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, due to take effect when he turned 75 next month, but Pope Benedict "has now decided that my resignation will take effect today". He said the pontiff would appoint an apostolic administrator to govern the archdiocese in his place until his successor is appointed.

More on O'Brien's accusers:

The former priest claims Cardinal O'Brien made an inappropriate approach to him in 1980, after night prayers, when he was a seminarian at St Andrew's College, Drygrange. The complainant says he resigned as a priest when Cardinal O'Brien was first made a bishop. A second statement from another complainant says he was living in a parish when he was visited by O'Brien, and inappropriate contact took place between them. A third complainant alleges dealing with what he describes as "unwanted behaviour" by the cardinal in the 1980s after some late-night drinking. And the fourth complainant claims the cardinal used night prayers as an excuse for inappropriate contact.

In November the British LGBT rights group Stonewall denounced O'Brien as their "Bigot Of The Year" after he described gay relationships as "harmful to the physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing" and compared marriage equality to child abuse and slavery.

Here's an excerpt from O'Brien's statement.

I have valued the opportunity of serving the people of Scotland and overseas in various ways since becoming a priest. Looking back over my years of ministry: For any good I have been able to do, I thank God. For any failures, I apologise to all whom I have offended. I thank Pope Benedict XVI for his kindness and courtesy to me and on my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Scotland, I wish him a long and happy retirement.