Britain's Most Senior Catholic Accused of "Inappropriate Acts" with Four Men
By John Bingham
Britain’s most senior Roman Catholic cleric is fighting allegations of “inappropriate” acts involving four men. Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the only figure based in mainland Britain with a vote on the next Pope, is said to be “contesting” the claims which involve three priests and a former cleric. The allegations have been passed to the Vatican through its representative in the UK, the Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Antonio Mennini. The accusers, who have not been named, are calling for the Cardinal’s resignation and said to be anxious to prevent him attending the Conclave in Rome next month. He is the latest in a series of Cardinals facing calls to stand aside from the Conclave because of different allegations. Last week Cardinal O’Brien insisted that it was not for him to judge whether Cardinal Roger Mahoney of Los Angeles, who is accused of covering up child sex allegations, should take part in the Conclave to elect Benedict XVI’s successor. According to The Observer, the four men wrote to the Nuncio just before the Pope’s resignation earlier this month outlining their claims which go back more than 30 years. One priest reportedly alleges that he received unwanted attention from the cardinal after a late-night drinking session. Another, who has since left the priesthood, claims that the cleric made “inappropriate” contact after evening prayers while he was a young seminarian. Another claims that he was receiving counselling from the future Cardinal as a young priest when he allegedly used night prayers as a cover. One of the men is reported to have said:”It (the church) tends to cover up and protect the system at all costs. "The church is beautiful, but it has a dark side and that has to do with accountability. If the system is to be improved, maybe it needs to be dismantled a bit." Cardinal O'Brien is due to due to retire next month. He has been arguably the most outspoken critic of gay marriage, condemning it as a “grotesque subversion”. But last week he surprised the Church with a call for priests to be allowed to marry. He said he had been “too busy” in his ministry to ever feel the need to get married himself but wanted others to have the option. He told the BBC: “Many priests have found it very difficult to cope with celibacy as they lived out their priesthood and felt the need of a companion, of a woman, to whom they could get married and raise a family of their own.” Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor, the former leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, said he was “very sad” to hear of the allegations about Cardinal O‘Brien and would have to “see how that pans out”. He said it would be “open to Cardinal O’Brien himself” to decide how he faces the allegations. But he added that it was likely the Pope would accept the Cardinal’s resignation, which was recently tendered, and said it would be "up to him" to decide whether he goes to the Conclave. “The Cardinal is very near to retirement and I suspect that his resignation, which is already with the Pope, will be accepted,” he said. But he declined to call for Cardinal O’Brien to stand aside from the Conclave while the allegations are investigated. He said: “That’s up to Cardinal O’Brien to decide … these allegations have not been proved and he will have to decide whether he goes or not.” He also defended the record of the embattled head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Cardinal Sean Brady, who is also facing calls to stand aside from the Conclave because of questions over his role in covering up child sex allegations. He said he considered Cardinal Brady, whose replacement as Archbishop of Armagh has already been decided, a friend and insisted he had “tackled the question of child abuse as well as he can”.
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