5th Male Priest Accuses Cardinal O’Brien of Naughty Things
As the leader of the Scottish Roman Catholic Church resigns, another priest has stepped forward to accuse the cardinal
Another priest has accused Cardinal Keith O’Brien of initiating ‘inappropriate behavior’.
It is the fifth such allegation to be made public against the former leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland, after O’Brien resigned on Monday (25 February).
The complaint is said to have given other men confidence to come forward with allegations against the cardinal, The Times reports.
The priest wrote directly to Rome late last year because he felt he could not trust the church hierarchy in Scotland to handle the matter.
His allegation was taken seriously, and O’Brien was allowed to resign a month earlier than he had already planned.
Other allegations of ‘acts’, made by three other priests and a former priest was revealed six days ago by The Observer newspaper, and date back over 33 years.
One of the alleged victims said that as a young priest he felt he had no option but to obey his superior.
‘You have to understand the relationship between a bishop and a priest,’ he said. ‘At your ordination, you take a vow to be obedient to him. He’s more than your boss, more than the CEO of your company.
‘He has immense power over you. He can move you, freeze you out, bring you into the fold ... he controls every aspect of your life. You can’t just kick him in the balls.’
O’Brien is contesting the claims and is apparently taking legal advice.
In the past, O’Brien has previously compared gay marriage to slavery, claiming it is a ‘violation of human rights’ and slammed its planned introduction by the Scottish and UK parliaments as ‘madness’.
He was named Bigot of the Year in 2012 by Stonewall, Britain’s leading gay campaign organization, amid protests by O’Brien’s supporters.
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