The resignation of Britain's most senior Catholic cleric is the biggest crisis for the church in the country for around 450 years, a leading historian says.
Cardinal Keith O'Brien, Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, stepped down on Monday, a day after Britain's Observer newspaper reported that three priests and a former priest had complained about him to the Vatican over alleged "inappropriate" behaviour stretching back 30 years.
O'Brien denies the allegations, which date back to the 1980s. A spokesman for the Scottish Catholic Media Office (SCMO) said the allegations were "anonymous and non-specific" and the 74-year-old cardinal is contesting them and taking legal advice.
O'Brien tendered his resignation as head of the Catholic Church in Scotland to the Vatican in November, citing age and "indifferent health" and he had been expected to step down next month when he turns 75, but his resignation now takes immediate effect.
It leaves the Catholic Church in Britain with no vote in the forthcoming conclave to elect a successor to Pope Benedict XVI.
O'Brien confirmed in his resignation statement that he will not take part in the election conclave, which has been overshadowed by controversies surrounding O'Brien and other cardinals caught up in sex scandals.
"I will not join them for this conclave in person," O'Brien said. "I do not wish media attention in Rome to be focused on me - but rather on Pope Benedict XVI and on his successor." (Read More Here)
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