Exit O'Brien, Britain's Plain-Talking Cardinal

By Lizzy Davies and Sam Jones
The Guardian
February 25, 2013

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/25/cardinal-keith-obrien-profile

Cardinal Keith O'Brien: his resignation leaves the UK without a vote in who will succeed Benedict XVI.

Cardinal Keith O'Brien, who has stepped down as leader of the Roman Catholic church in Scotland, acquired a reputation for speaking his mind on homosexuality, abortion and secularism.

But it is for his resignation that he is likely to be best remembered. On Monday morning, a day after reports emerged that three serving priests and one former priest had accused him of "inappropriate acts" towards them, he resigned, saying: "The Holy Father has now decided that my resignation will take effect today."

The decision to step down with immediate effect means that O'Brien will not travel to Rome for the conclave to elect the next pope, leaving the UK without a vote in who will succeed Benedict XVI. His departure also leaves traditional and conservative British Catholics without one of their most outspoken leaders.

Last Friday, in an interview that surprised many, the cardinal appeared to be softening his line, suggesting that Catholic priests ought to able to marry and have children, and saying the demand for celibacy was not of "divine origin".

O'Brien explained that many priests found it "very difficult to cope" with the celibate life and suggested lifting that ban could soon happen in the wider church.

His previous statements had been less nuanced. In 2007 he compared the rate of abortion to "two Dunblane massacres a day", and last year he called for women who wanted terminations to be shown ultrasound scans of their unborn baby.

O'Brien was appointed archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh in 1985 and was initially thought to be somewhat liberal, defending the rights of gay teachers to work in Catholic schools. In 2003 Pope John Paul II made him only the third Scottish cardinal since the Reformation, and in 2005 O'Brien was part of the conclave that appointed Pope Benedict.

In recent years O'Brien has been known for taking a more strident tone. He has vigorously opposed civil partnerships and said gay marriage was "like slavery". He also attacked the government over the 2008 embryo bill, calling it "monstrous" and "evil". Last November the gay rights lobby group Stonewall awarded him its bigot of the year prize.

Born in County Antrim, O'Brien moved to Scotland as a boy. He was ordained in 1965 and trained as a teacher, working as a science teacher, then as spiritual director in two seminaries. He suffers heart problems and has a pacemaker.