Cardinal Keith O'Brien has been forced
to resign his post as archbishop effective immediately amid
allegations he made advances to younger clergy in his diocese.
“Approaching the age of seventy-five
and at times in indifferent health, I tendered my resignation as
Archbishop of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh to Pope Benedict XVI some
months ago. I was happy to know that he accepted my resignation
'nunc pro tunc' – (now – but to take affect later) on 12 November
2012,” O'Brien said in a statement.
“I thank Pope Benedict XVI for his
kindness and courtesy to me on my own behalf and on behalf of the
people of Scotland, I wish him a long and happy retirement.”
UK's The Telegraph reported that
O'Brien is not expected to attend the conclave to elect the next pope
but it was not yet clear whether he has resigned from the College of
Cardinals.
O'Brien, the most senior Catholic
cleric in Britain, has denied the claims. However, media reports
suggest O'Brien was pressured by Pope Benedict XVI to resign.
O'Brien's
resignation comes after the Observer reported on
allegations by three priests and a former priest dating back to the
1980s. The paper wrote that the four had complained to the Vatican
about “inappropriate acts.”
O'Brien has been a vocal critic of gay
rights, denouncing the government's plans to legalize gay marriage as
“madness” and a “grotesque subversion of a universally accepted
human right.”
He also compared such unions to plural
relationships.
“If marriage can be redefined so that
it no longer means a man and a woman but two men or two woman, why
stop there? Why not allow three men or a woman and two men to
constitute a marriage, if they pledged their fidelity to one
another?”
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