British cardinal admits sexual misconduct

LONDON — Cardinal Keith O’Brien, who stepped down as Britain’s highestranking Roman Catholic cleric last week amid allegations of inappropriate behavior with priests, backed away from earlier denials and admitted Sunday to committing acts of sexual misconduct.

The admission was a blow to the church’s hierarchy even as cardinals prepare to meet in Rome on Monday to select a date for the conclave to pick a new pope. In Britain, the admission was considered a confirmation of what observers here have called a prime example of church hypocrisy, given that O’Brien, 74, emerged as a leading voice against gay rights and had launched a campaign to block the legalization of same-sex marriages here.

Last Monday, outgoing Pope Benedict XVI effectively forced O’Brien’s early retirement a day after Britain’s Observer newspaper published accounts by four men — including one former priest and three current priests — who alleged the cardinal had initiated intimate contact with them. When the reports first surfaced, O’Brien, who was the head of the church in Scotland since 2003, had denied the charges.

But on Sunday, O’Brien conceded in a statement on an official church website that his conduct had “fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal.” He vowed to “spend the rest of my life in retirement,” adding that “I will play no further part in the public life of the Catholic Church in Scotland.”

O’Brien has recused himself from attending the gathering to select the next pope.

“To those I have offended, I apologize and ask forgiveness,” O’Brien continued. “To the Catholic Church and people of Scotland, I also apologize.”

On Sunday, the Observer newspaper carried further reaction from one of the four men, all of whom remain anonymous.

“For me, this is about integrity,” the paper quoted the man as saying. “I thought it was best to let the men and women who put their hard-earned cash in the plate every Sunday know what has been happening,” he said.