New allegation against former Cardinal O’Brien

March 27, 2015

An anonymous priest who alleged that former Cardinal Keith O’Brien made a sexual advance toward him told The Tablet that he believed that “at least 40 cases” of sexual misconduct took place during the decades following his 1985 appointment as Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh.

The priest stated that O’Brien, who has renounced the rights and privileges associated with being a cardinal, “approached individuals in the guise of a confessor in order to groom them for sexual contact,” The Tablet reported.

“This is not a matter of people coming to him to confess, but him approaching them,” the priest said.

“It’s not the fact that he was gay, which everyone knew about,” the priest added, “but that he was a predator.”

 

---

For all current news, visit our News home page.

---

 
Further information:

• Cushley says O’Brien destroyed Church’s credibility as new allegations emerge (The Tablet)
• Disgraced Scottish cardinal renounces his rank (CWN, 3/20)