The stripping by Pope Francis of Cardinal Keith O’Brien’s rights and
privileges of his office, coupled with an admission by his successor
Archbishop Leo Cushley that his behaviour had made the Catholic Church
in Scotland “less credible”, might not be enough, sadly, to bury this
sorry affair and let healing begin. There were major allegations against
O’Brien when he was Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh. The first
was that he was a hypocrite when he outspokenly attacked the proposal
for gay marriage. His exposure as a gay man who had made multiple
unwanted sexual advances fatally undermined the Church’s message in what
was already a tense debate. The reputational damage has been done; he
has apologised and paid the penalty.
