...and asks forgiveness.
A Scottish cardinal on Sunday acknowledged having engaged in unspecified sexual misbehavior, apologized for his actions, and promised
to stay out of the church's public life in a statement that comes at an
awkward time for the Vatican.
....
O'Brien initially rejected the claims, saying he was resigning
because he did not want to distract from the upcoming conclave of
cardinals that is due to pick a successor to Benedict XVI, who resigned
the papacy Thursday. O'Brien also became the first cardinal to recuse
himself from the conclave because of personal scandal; other voting-age
cardinals have in the past stayed home because of infirmity or because
they were prevented by their governments from participating.
On Sunday, the Catholic church in Scotland issued a statement quoting
O'Brien as saying that there had been times "that my sexual conduct has
fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and
cardinal."
"To those I have offended, I apologize and ask forgiveness," the
statement continued. "To the Catholic church and people of Scotland, I
also apologize. I will now spend the rest of my life in retirement. I
will play no further part in the public life of the Catholic church in
Scotland."
There will be no basilica in Rome for Cardinal O'Brien. How fraught the conclave to elect the next pope will be with pressure to assure that whoever is elected will not be accused of misconduct in the near or far future. I pray that those who have secrets in their pasts that could shock or embarrass the church further will be honest enough to take themselves out of the running. I have good friends who are members of the Roman Catholic Church, and I care about them and wish for them better and more peaceful times.
