Cardinal Keith O'Brien Keeps Low Profile after Shock Resignation As Former Church Leader Calls for Renewal and Reform

Daily Record
February 27, 2013

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/cardinal-keith-obrien-low-profile-1733050

Cardinal O'Brien working in the study of his official residence yesterday

Former Cardinal Keith O'Brien sits inside his office

AS the Cardinal worked from home an ex-leader of England's Catholics says the next Pope must put his house in order.

CARDINAL Keith O’Brien seemed to be working away like normal in his study yesterday – despite claims he was “very upset” over the circumstances of his shock resignation.

The day after he stepped down as Britain’s most senior Catholic, the 74-year-old remained behind closed doors in his official residence in Edinburgh’s Morningside.

As O’Brien was making calls and talking into a dictaphone, a former leader of Catholics in England and Wales called for the “Pope’s own house to be put in order”.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor said it was time for the Catholic Church to undergo renewal and reform in the wake of recent scandals.

O’Brien quit as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh after allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards three priests and one ex-priest in the 1980s were published on Sunday.

He was said to be “very upset” by a Catholic Church source who told the BBC yesterday that the cardinal was “a vulnerable adult”.

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The source added: “He doesn’t know who his accusers are and doesn’t know what they’re accusing him of.”

When O’Brien announced his decision on Monday, he apologised to “all whom I have offended” for any “failures” during his ministry.

But Archdiocese of Glasgow spokesman Ronnie Convery yesterday said: “I think that’s a generic statement which is often made when people in public life leave public life, so I don’t think we can read anything into that.”

He also insisted the cardinal’s decision not to take part in the election of a new pope was his own but added: “I have to say, with my media hat on, that I think it was the right decision.

“I think that, if he had gone, the story would have been dragged right to the heart of the conclave.

“It would have become a sideshow to the conclave, it would have risked disrupting the conclave in many ways, so I think it was a wise move all round for him to voluntarily renounce his right to take part.

“By stepping back, he allows the conclave to go on and to run its course in peace.”

O’Brien’s decision has left Britain’s Catholics with no say in who will become the next pope.

Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor, 80, who will fly to Rome today to take part in meetings before the conclave starts, is ineligible to cast a vote because of his age.

Asked about O’Brien’s resignation, the retired Archbishop of West-minster said: “I do not know anything about the details.

“I’m sure that they will be addressed but certainly I was saddened.

“I know Cardinal O’Brien well, so I think it has been very sad. I think that what has happened will for him and for the Church in Scotland have been very damaging.”

Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor said part of the role of the apostolic administrator appointed to the diocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh while the post remains vacant would be to examine the allegations made against O’Brien, who is contesting the claims and is taking legal advice.

He added that he thought O’Brien was a “very honest man” and that “it was up to his own conscience that he stepped down”.

Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor said reform of the Church would be high on the agenda when the cardinals gathered in Rome.

He said: “There is no doubt that today there needs to be renewal in the Church, reform in the Church and especially of government – otherwise not just the image of the Church but the effectiveness of the Church is also affected.

“The cardinals will be discussing not just one particular issue but some of the scandals that have afflicted the Church – the gravest one has been child abuse.”

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Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor added: “As you know, there have been troubles in recent years, and scandals. Well, this has got to be addressed and especially the Pope’s own house has to be put in order.”

He said Pope Benedict’s successor would need to be able to tackle reform of the Roman Curia, the Vatican departments that govern the global Church.

Pope Benedict, 85, who will formally quit tomorrow after becoming the first pontiff in nearly 600 years to resign, has previously hinted at the Vatican’s dysfunction.

He deplored how the Church are often “defiled” by attacks and divisions and urged their members to overcome “pride and egoism”.