The following story brings up memories of the George Reker mess, or Marcial Maciel for that matter. The story is believable if one ascribes to Richard Sipe's theories of clerical grooming, and unfortunately most likely true, given there are four accusers. It will be interesting to see how Pope Benedict handles this or if he pushes it off on his successor. Cardinal O'Brien did not attend the mornings Mass at his cathedral. He was supposed to give a farewell homily for Pope Benedict. The UK's Guardian Observer broke this story yesterday and it has gone viral.
UK's top cardinal accused of 'inappropriate acts' by priests
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Cardinal Keith O'Brien, Britain's most senior Catholic clergyman. Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
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Three priests and a former priest in Scotland
have reported the most senior Catholic clergyman in Britain, Cardinal
Keith O'Brien, to the Vatican over allegations of inappropriate behaviour stretching back 30 years.
The four, from the diocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh, have complained to nuncio Antonio Mennini, the Vatican's ambassador to Britain, and demanded O'Brien's immediate resignation. A spokesman for the cardinal said that the claims were contested.
O'Brien, who is due to retire next month, has been an outspoken opponent of gay rights, condemning homosexuality as immoral, opposing gay adoption, and most recently arguing that same-sex marriages would be "harmful to the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of those involved". Last year he was named "bigot of the year" by the gay rights charity Stonewall. (Hypocrite of the year may be more accurate.
One of the complainants, it is understood, alleges that the cardinal developed an inappropriate relationship with him, resulting in a need for long-term psychological counselling.
The four submitted statements containing their claims to the nuncio's office the week before Pope Benedict's resignation on 11 February. They fear that, if O'Brien travels to the forthcoming papal conclave to elect a new pope, the church will not fully address their complaints.
"It tends to cover up and protect the system at all costs," said one of the complainants. "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."
The revelation of the priests' complaints will be met with consternation in the Vatican. Allegations of sexual abuse by members of the church have dogged the papacy of Benedict XVI, who is to step down as pope at the end of this month. Following the announcement, rumours have swirled in Rome that Benedict's shock move may be connected to further scandals to come.
The four priests asked a senior figure in the diocese to act as their representative to the nuncio's office. Through this representative, the nuncio replied, in emails seen by the Observer, that he appreciated their courage.
It is understood that the first allegation against the cardinal dates back to 1980. The complainant, who is now married, was then a 20-year-old seminarian at St Andrew's College, Drygrange, where O'Brien was his "spiritual director". The Observer understands that the statement claims O'Brien made an inappropriate approach after night prayers.
The seminarian says he was too frightened to report the incident, but says his personality changed afterwards, and his teachers regularly noted that he seemed depressed. He was ordained, but he told the nuncio in his statement that he resigned when O'Brien was promoted to bishop. "I knew then he would always have power over me. It was assumed I left the priesthood to get married. I did not. I left to preserve my integrity." (Integrity, there's another word that apparently has no Latin translation.)
In a second statement, "Priest A" describes being happily settled in a parish when he claims he was visited by O'Brien and inappropriate contact between the two took place.
In a third statement, "Priest B" claims that he was starting his ministry in the 1980s when he was invited to spend a week "getting to know" O'Brien at the archbishop's residence. His statement alleges that he found himself dealing with what he describes as unwanted behaviour by the cardinal after a late-night drinking session.
"Priest C" was a young priest the cardinal was counselling over personal problems. Priest C's statement claims that O'Brien used night prayers as an excuse for inappropriate contact.
The cardinal maintained contact with Priest C over a period of time, and the statement to the nuncio's office alleges that he engineered at least one other intimate situation. O'Brien is, says Priest C, very charismatic, and being sought out by the superior who was supposed to be guiding him was both troubling and flattering.
Those involved believe the cardinal abused his position. "You have to understand," explains the ex-priest, "the relationship between a bishop and a priest. 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."
All four have been reluctant to raise their concerns. They are, though, concerned that the church will ignore their complaints, and want the conclave electing the new pope to be "clean". According to canon law, no cardinal who is eligible to vote can be prevented from doing so.
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I'm beginning to think Robert Mickens observation that if all Cardinals who had allegations of covering up abuse, financial shenanigans, or sexual misdeeds were barred from the Conclave, it really could be held in a broom closet.
Richard Sipe has long maintained this is how business is done. Bishops and Archbishops trolling the waters amongst the newly ordained or amongst seminarians to find appropriate candidates for 'personal secretaries' and other chancellery positions. In 2008 he submitted a letter to Pope Benedict about another American Cardinal credibly accused of the same behavior as Cardinal Keith O'Brien. To this point the Vatican has not responded to any of the numerous reports about the behavior of this Cardinal and he too is eligible to vote in this upcoming Conclave.
I have read many many right wing comments that ascribe this kind of thing to the 'evil gays'. In reality it's not about the evil gays so much as it is about the evil system that allows for and essentially promotes this kind of abusive activity by purposefully ignoring it. And it is first and formost abusive because it is a willful exercise of supervisory power against a helpless subordinate. Call it the Catholic Clerical form of the kind of sexual harassment many many female workers have endured under their own male bosses. The major difference is this is occurring in an all male environment and by definition has to be homosexual. Same sort of thing happens in prisons all the time. It's predatory abusive sexuality that has a homosexual expression. In the Catholic clerical culture there are many other real pressures on these young men not to divulge what has happened so they know there is very little that will ever be officially done to their abusers. It took 50 years for Maciel's abuse victims to finally be acknowledged.
I guess I think there is Karmic justice in these allegations against Cardinal O'Brien. His stunningly ignorant take on GLBT issues deserved a Karmic reply, very much like George Rekers got his own Karmic send up. I personally am so glad GLBT people have made so many strides in the last twenty five years, because my hope is this kind of 'gay lobby' will no longer find a place to operate in a secret clerical system. Gay men now have far more options than they had when being a priest was one of the few. As much as conservatives want to rant and rant about the 'gay agenda' in society, I hope someday they understand that it is just this 'gay agenda' that will have been most responsible for stopping the abuse endemic to the clerical system.
UPDATE:**************************
Cardinal O'Brien has resigned and will not be attending the Conclave. His stated reason is not to distract from Pope Benedict XVI or the election of Benedict's successor. He has not specifically responded to the allegations by the four men, but apologized for any wrongs he may have committed. I have to wonder if American Cardinals Mahony and Rigali will take note. At least Cardinal O'Brien got real about celibate clergy before his own alleged indiscretions underlined his point.
The four, from the diocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh, have complained to nuncio Antonio Mennini, the Vatican's ambassador to Britain, and demanded O'Brien's immediate resignation. A spokesman for the cardinal said that the claims were contested.
O'Brien, who is due to retire next month, has been an outspoken opponent of gay rights, condemning homosexuality as immoral, opposing gay adoption, and most recently arguing that same-sex marriages would be "harmful to the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of those involved". Last year he was named "bigot of the year" by the gay rights charity Stonewall. (Hypocrite of the year may be more accurate.
One of the complainants, it is understood, alleges that the cardinal developed an inappropriate relationship with him, resulting in a need for long-term psychological counselling.
The four submitted statements containing their claims to the nuncio's office the week before Pope Benedict's resignation on 11 February. They fear that, if O'Brien travels to the forthcoming papal conclave to elect a new pope, the church will not fully address their complaints.
"It tends to cover up and protect the system at all costs," said one of the complainants. "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."
The revelation of the priests' complaints will be met with consternation in the Vatican. Allegations of sexual abuse by members of the church have dogged the papacy of Benedict XVI, who is to step down as pope at the end of this month. Following the announcement, rumours have swirled in Rome that Benedict's shock move may be connected to further scandals to come.
The four priests asked a senior figure in the diocese to act as their representative to the nuncio's office. Through this representative, the nuncio replied, in emails seen by the Observer, that he appreciated their courage.
It is understood that the first allegation against the cardinal dates back to 1980. The complainant, who is now married, was then a 20-year-old seminarian at St Andrew's College, Drygrange, where O'Brien was his "spiritual director". The Observer understands that the statement claims O'Brien made an inappropriate approach after night prayers.
The seminarian says he was too frightened to report the incident, but says his personality changed afterwards, and his teachers regularly noted that he seemed depressed. He was ordained, but he told the nuncio in his statement that he resigned when O'Brien was promoted to bishop. "I knew then he would always have power over me. It was assumed I left the priesthood to get married. I did not. I left to preserve my integrity." (Integrity, there's another word that apparently has no Latin translation.)
In a second statement, "Priest A" describes being happily settled in a parish when he claims he was visited by O'Brien and inappropriate contact between the two took place.
In a third statement, "Priest B" claims that he was starting his ministry in the 1980s when he was invited to spend a week "getting to know" O'Brien at the archbishop's residence. His statement alleges that he found himself dealing with what he describes as unwanted behaviour by the cardinal after a late-night drinking session.
"Priest C" was a young priest the cardinal was counselling over personal problems. Priest C's statement claims that O'Brien used night prayers as an excuse for inappropriate contact.
The cardinal maintained contact with Priest C over a period of time, and the statement to the nuncio's office alleges that he engineered at least one other intimate situation. O'Brien is, says Priest C, very charismatic, and being sought out by the superior who was supposed to be guiding him was both troubling and flattering.
Those involved believe the cardinal abused his position. "You have to understand," explains the ex-priest, "the relationship between a bishop and a priest. 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."
All four have been reluctant to raise their concerns. They are, though, concerned that the church will ignore their complaints, and want the conclave electing the new pope to be "clean". According to canon law, no cardinal who is eligible to vote can be prevented from doing so.
**********************************************
I'm beginning to think Robert Mickens observation that if all Cardinals who had allegations of covering up abuse, financial shenanigans, or sexual misdeeds were barred from the Conclave, it really could be held in a broom closet.
Richard Sipe has long maintained this is how business is done. Bishops and Archbishops trolling the waters amongst the newly ordained or amongst seminarians to find appropriate candidates for 'personal secretaries' and other chancellery positions. In 2008 he submitted a letter to Pope Benedict about another American Cardinal credibly accused of the same behavior as Cardinal Keith O'Brien. To this point the Vatican has not responded to any of the numerous reports about the behavior of this Cardinal and he too is eligible to vote in this upcoming Conclave.
I have read many many right wing comments that ascribe this kind of thing to the 'evil gays'. In reality it's not about the evil gays so much as it is about the evil system that allows for and essentially promotes this kind of abusive activity by purposefully ignoring it. And it is first and formost abusive because it is a willful exercise of supervisory power against a helpless subordinate. Call it the Catholic Clerical form of the kind of sexual harassment many many female workers have endured under their own male bosses. The major difference is this is occurring in an all male environment and by definition has to be homosexual. Same sort of thing happens in prisons all the time. It's predatory abusive sexuality that has a homosexual expression. In the Catholic clerical culture there are many other real pressures on these young men not to divulge what has happened so they know there is very little that will ever be officially done to their abusers. It took 50 years for Maciel's abuse victims to finally be acknowledged.
I guess I think there is Karmic justice in these allegations against Cardinal O'Brien. His stunningly ignorant take on GLBT issues deserved a Karmic reply, very much like George Rekers got his own Karmic send up. I personally am so glad GLBT people have made so many strides in the last twenty five years, because my hope is this kind of 'gay lobby' will no longer find a place to operate in a secret clerical system. Gay men now have far more options than they had when being a priest was one of the few. As much as conservatives want to rant and rant about the 'gay agenda' in society, I hope someday they understand that it is just this 'gay agenda' that will have been most responsible for stopping the abuse endemic to the clerical system.
UPDATE:**************************
Cardinal O'Brien has resigned and will not be attending the Conclave. His stated reason is not to distract from Pope Benedict XVI or the election of Benedict's successor. He has not specifically responded to the allegations by the four men, but apologized for any wrongs he may have committed. I have to wonder if American Cardinals Mahony and Rigali will take note. At least Cardinal O'Brien got real about celibate clergy before his own alleged indiscretions underlined his point.
