VATICAN CITY
Gazzetta del Sud
Vatican City, March 20 – Pope Francis on Friday accepted a disgraced Scottish prelate’s resignation from cardinal status because of sex scandals. Msgr Keith Michael Patrick O’Brien, archbishop emeritus of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh, had been accused by some priests of “inappropriate behaviour” and sex abuse. O’Brien, who stepped down from Saint Andrews in 2013, remains a priest and bishop, and retains the title of cardinal, but will have no more public duties and will be excluded from future conclaves to vote on the next pope, according to the Vatican. In a statement, the Vatican said the pope sent “to all the faithful of the Church in Scotland his pastoral concern and encourages them to continue confidently on the path of renewal and reconciliation”. O’Brien had been the Catholic Church’s most senior cleric at the time of his resignation, BBC reported on its website.
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