The Apostolic Nuncio in Great Britain, Archbishop
Antonio Mennini, has defended the disgraced former Catholic leader,
Keith O’Brien, saying that “notwithstanding his mistake" the cardinal
had done "a lot of good for the church." The papal representative’s statement about the cardinal has sparked a debate in Britain.
The case involving Scotland’s former primate, O’Brien, exploded towards the end of Benedict XVI’s pontificate, when three priests and a former priest accused him of “improper” conduct in the 1980s, the BBC reports.
O’Brien had gained a reputation as a staunch critic of the gay movement and was always among the first to condemn homosexuality as immoral and same-sex marriages as "harmful to the physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing of those involved."
“The Pope is informed about the problem and the question is now in his hands,” the Vatican’s spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombardi had assured the public. And so O’Brien pulled out of the Conclave. Under Vatican law, a cardinal elector cannot be excluded from the Conclave for any reason, it is up to the cardinal himself.
But Benedict XVI, who accepted O’Brien’s resignation from the Diocese of Edinburgh immediately, asked for the cardinal’s self-exclusion from the voting procedure. O’Brien himself admitted the allegations of “improper conduct” with male Seminarists were true.
Two years after his election to the Throne of Peter, Bergoglio has ordered the cardinal to leave Scotland “for the purpose of spiritual renewal, prayer and penance.”
Now, Nuncio Mennini is saying that despite the mistakes O’Brien committed, "we cannot judge the cardinal only for these very serious events, because in every person there is black and white, we have positive and negative."
The Apostolic Nuncio in Great Britain said it was hoped Cardinal O'Brien would be replaced as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh next month.
Two weeks ago, the cardinal confirmed he would be leaving Scotland for “several months”, after the Holy See issued a statement saying that “His Eminence Cardinal Keith Patrick O’Brien, Archbishop Emeritus of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, for the same reasons he decided not to participate in the last Conclave and in agreement with the Holy Father, will be leaving Scotland for several months for the purpose of spiritual renewal, prayer and penance.”
The accusations of the former Scottish archbishop’s sexual misconduct with three priests back in the 1980s, appeared in the British press in February, just days after Benedict XVI announced his resignation from the Petrine ministry.
A week later, O’Brien issued a statement admitting his sexual conduct had at times "fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal.”
Then, in March, he issued an apology 'to those I have offended” including “the Catholic Church and people of Scotland” and asked for their forgiveness.
The Vatican has stated that “any decision regarding future arrangements for his eminence shall be agreed with the Holy See.”