Vatican "Orders Cardinal Keith O'brien to Leave Scotland"

By Conal Urquhart
The Guardian
May 4, 2013

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/04/vatican-cardinal-keith-obrien-leave-scotland

Cardinal Keith O'Brien resigned after admitting to inappropriate sexual conduct. Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Cardinal Keith O'Brien, Britain's most senior priest, has been ordered by the Vatican to leave Scotland, it has been reported.

The cardinal, who retired from the leadership of the church in Scotland after admitting inappropriate sexual conduct with priests, has been advised against going ahead with his plan to move to a house in Dunbar in East Lothian after vacating his official residence in Edinburgh, according to the Herald.

The archbishop of Glasgow, Philip Tartaglia, wrote to the pope's envoy in London to warn of the possibility of damage to the Catholic church if O'Brien maintained a public profile in Scotland, the paper reported.

"The cardinal has been advised not to relocate to the parish in Dunbar and has been told he should leave the country," an anonymous source told the paper. "That's extremely disappointing and not a Christian way to treat someone. There's clearly pressure from within and outwith the Church and no show of unity."

Canon John Creanor, of the Our Lady of the Waves in Dunbar, said he had no knowledge of any instructions from the Vatican to O'Brien to leave the country.

"If that was the case, I would be horrified. The people of Dunbar are keenly awaiting his arrival," he said.

The Scottish Catholic Media office did not respond to inquiries.

O'Brien is originally from Northern Ireland but does not want to return there. Even though he has retired, he remains the most senior priest in Scotland and no one outside Rome has the authority to prevent him playing a role in public life.

O'Brien resigned after the Observer revealed in March that three priests and a former priest had complained about inappropriate behaviour.

Due to retire in April, O'Brien had been an outspoken opponent of gay rights, condemning homosexuality as immoral, opposing gay adoption, and most recently arguing that same-sex marriages would be "harmful to the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of those involved". Last year he was named "bigot of the year" by the gay rights charity Stonewall.