Keith O'Brien Faces New Allegation That He Assaulted a Priest on the Night He Was Made a Cardinal

Daily Record
March 17, 2013

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/keith-obrien-faces-new-allegation-1770285

Cardinal Keith O'Brien

PRIEST claims he was groped at an event in the Scots College in Rome in 2003.

KEITH O’Brien has been accused of sexual assaulting a priest on the night he was made a cardinal.

It has emerged that one of the claims against him centres on the night he was awarded the red mitre by Pope John Paul II in 2003.

The complaint, made by a Scottish priest now based in London, had already been reported but it was thought to have dated back to 2001.

However, it emerged yesterday that the priest claims he was groped by Cardinal O’Brien at an event in Scots College in Rome on October 21, 2003.

The priest said he was among a party of clerics who had travelled to see their senior colleague’s elevation at the Vatican.

Six priests and former priests have now made claims against Cardinal O’Brien that are being probed by the Catholic church.

The first to be made public came from four priests who jointly accused him of inappropriate behaviour.

The 2003 allegation emerged soon after and the sixth emerged last week from a former trainee priest who claimed he was abused by Cardinal O’Brien at a seminary as a teenager.

A Church spokesman said: “A number of complaints have been passed to the Vatican.

“The detail of them is not known to the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland.”