Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet Reportedly Helped Broker Resignation of Scandal-plagued U.K. Cardinal

By Tristin Hopper
National Post
March 1, 2013

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/03/01/canadian-cardinal-marc-ouellet-reportedly-helped-broker-resignation-of-scandal-plagued-u-k-cardinal/

Jeff J Mitchell/Getty ImagesCardinal Keith O'Brien, 74, leader of the Scottish Catholic Church.

Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the Canadian considered a contender for the papacy, was instrumental in brokering the recent resignation of U.K. Cardinal Keith O’Brien, according to Britain’s The Times.

Ralph Orlowski / Getty ImagesCardinal Marc Ouellet.

Cardinal O’Brien, the U.K.’s highest-ranking clergyman, stepped down on Monday after first one priest — and then four others — stepped forward to accuse him of making sexual advances. In a statement, Cardinal O’Brien said he would skip the upcoming conclave to select a new pope, saying that he did not want to attract undue media attention while in Rome.

According to a Thursday report in The Times, one of the priests took his complaint directly to the Vatican fearing that it would not be taken seriously by Scottish officials.

“His allegation was taken seriously … and in a deal brokered by Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Montreal, Cardinal O’Brien resigned,” it reads.

Cardinal Ouellet, who was formerly the archbishop of Quebec, now heads the Vatican’s Congregation for Bishops, an influential Catholic body charged with selecting much of the world’s bishops.