sex scandals

British Cardinal Apologizes for Those ‘Inappropriate Acts’

Cardinal Keith O'Brien speaks to waiting media outside St.Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland May 31, 2007. Cardinal O'Brien has said that Catholic politicians who defend abortion should not expect to remain full church members, local media reported.
Photo: DAVID MOIR/Corbis

Last week, Cardinal Keith O’Brien resigned from his leadership of the Catholic church in Britain after three current priests and one former one accused him of “inappropriate acts.” On Sunday, O’Brien — who is vocally anti-gay — decided that he owed the Church and its followers an apology for the “times that my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal.” Additionally, he explained that he’d initially denied the allegations because of “their anonymous and non-specific nature,” though he declined to share the details that finally jogged his memory.

O’Brien Apologizes for ‘Sexual Conduct’