Britsh senior Catholic accused of "inappropriate acts " with 4 men.

Britain's most senior Catholic accused of 'inappropriate acts' with four
men


Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the only figure based in mainland Britain with a
vote on the next Pope, is said to be “contesting” the claims which involve three
priests and a former cleric.








Britain’s most senior Roman
Catholic cleric Cardinal Keith O’Brien Photo: Jeff J
Mitchell/Getty Images






By John Bingham, Religious Affairs
Editor

9:59AM GMT 24 Feb 2013





Britain’s most senior Roman Catholic cleric is fighting allegations of
“inappropriate” acts involving four men.


Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the only figure based in mainland Britain with a vote
on the next Pope, is said to be “contesting” the claims which involve three
priests and a former cleric.


The allegations have been passed to the Vatican through its representative in
the UK, the Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Antonio Mennini.


The accusers, who have not been named, are calling for the Cardinal’s
resignation and said to be anxious to prevent him attending the Conclave in Rome
next month.


He is the latest in a series of Cardinals facing calls to stand aside from
the Conclave because of different allegations.



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Last week Cardinal O’Brien insisted that it was not for him to judge whether
Cardinal Roger Mahoney of Los Angeles, who is accused of covering up child sex
allegations, should take part in the Conclave to elect Benedict XVI’s successor.


According to The Observer, the four men wrote to the Nuncio just
before the Pope’s resignation earlier this month outlining their claims which go
back more than 30 years.

One priest reportedly alleges that he received unwanted attention from the
cardinal after a late-night drinking session.

Another, who has since left the priesthood, claims that the cleric made
“inappropriate” contact after evening prayers while he was a young seminarian.


Another claims that he was receiving counselling from the future Cardinal as
a young priest when he allegedly used night prayers as a cover.

One of the men is reported to have said:”It (the church) tends to cover up
and protect the system at all costs.

"The church is beautiful, but it has a dark side and that has to do with
accountability. If the system is to be improved, maybe it needs to be dismantled
a bit."

Cardinal O'Brien is due to due to retire next month.

He has been arguably the most outspoken critic of gay marriage, condemning it
as a “grotesque subversion”.

But last week he surprised the Church with a call for priests to be allowed
to marry.

He said he had been “too busy” in his ministry to ever feel the need to get
married himself but wanted others to have the option.

He told the BBC: “Many priests have found it very difficult to cope with
celibacy as they lived out their priesthood and felt the need of a companion, of
a woman, to whom they could get married and raise a family of their own.”

=============================
I think it's time the Catholic Religion accepts that celibacy is unnatural for Men and either allowed Priests to marry, or made them Eunuchs....think of all the children who would be spared from religious paedophiles.

That would certainly help, Panda, if celibacy wasn't a rule but it wouldn't remove the problem of child abuse entirely among priests. Think of how many other paedophiles are not clergy and lead apparently "normal" lives, sometimes in relationships with children of their own.

This particular case involves other males not children; not acceptable behaviour of course if the males were not consenting.

Not Born Yesterday wrote:That would certainly help, Panda, if celibacy wasn't a rule but it wouldn't remove the problem of child abuse entirely among priests. Think of how many other paedophiles are not clergy and lead apparently "normal" lives, sometimes in relationships with children of their own.

This particular case involves other males not children; not acceptable behaviour of course if the males were not consenting.

Hi NBY, the intrigue going on in the Vatican is as bad as any Parliament . There was a discussion on T.V. this morning about Religion and one Person suggested the Vatican do away with birth control, especially in poor Countries where children are condemned to poverty and hunger because their Parents had to obey a Centuries old order.

News is now coming in that Cardinal O'Brien has resigned.

Must be something that they eat that triggers testosterone for all these public figures to divert from the norm. I can understand Celibacy being very difficult to contain , but paedophilia ...NO.

A Lord Rennard is the latest to be charged with groping young Female colleagues (years ago) and the Leader of the Lib Dems has been dragged into it because he first of all said he didn't know anything about it but now concedes he did. Looks like Political skullduggery that it should be brought up now, with an important Election in Eastleigh due in days.