Disgraced Cardinal Keith O’Brien, who stepped down from his post after allegations he made advances toward at least four priests, was allegedly in a “longstanding physical relationship” with one of them.
The Daily Mail reports that O’Brien, former head of the Catholic Church in Scotland, had a priest boyfriend for years, one who made frequent visits to O’Brien’s official residence in Edinburgh.
His beau was going to go to the press, supposedly, until the Cardinal stopped him.
O’Brien, 75 has been vocal in his attacks on homosexuality and equal marriage, which he deemed a “grotesque subversion” and equivalent to child abuse and slavery. Vatican insiders initially tried to downplay the accusations as coming from part of a supposed “gay cabal” in the Church looking for revenge against O’Brien.
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These guys, we now know, were part of an inner circle. In the 30 years since these allegations took place there’s been ample time to complain. The Cardinal has had a huge profile for the past decade. But the door wasn’t just shut on them, it was bolted in the past 18 months,’ another said.
I believe they wanted to silence O’Brien – as he’s about to do another conclave, and make a huge deal of it. As he’s retiring, a decision’s been taken to go public and take him down,’ he claimed.
But in an interview with the Observer, “Father Peter”—who admits to a longtime relationship with the Cardinal—says he came forward for “altruistic reasons: “I see the bigger picture: the cleansing of the church.”
Father Peter also says he’s in therapy for what he now considers abuse: “I was vulnerable and he knew that. He was very charismatic and I couldn’t believe his interest in me. I thought he was helping me.”
The ousted holy man is facing a Vatican inquiry, as well as a possible police investigation. One of the accusers, presumably not his boyfriend, is also suing O’Brien for groping and kissing him.
Michael David Barber
What a bunch of disgusting human beings. They wouldn’t know truth if it ran them over like a steam shovel.
jwrappaport
Eius culpa, eius culpa…
alexoloughlin
The one conspicuous thing about this is the silence of the catholic hierarchy, barely a word of condemnation. O’Brien is in hiding, nobody seems to know where. I suspect the silence has more to do with some of them facing a similar outing. They’ve not been saying anything bad about the equal marriage legislation in the UK since this story broke. They probably fear they’ll be next in the firing line just like O’Brien was.
AndrewIB
You just couldn’t make this up..the Catholic Church is imploding with scandal following scandal..How they expect the faithful to keep turning a blind eye I can’t imagine.
Dresden
The thing that grosses me out the most about this ordeal is that Father Peter felt it necessary to describe the relationship as abuse and something that needs to be cleansed. Altruistic?… I just puked in my mouth.
Joseph
as my husband says, note he is a former Jesuit , if you want to find a great place to meet men join the catholic church and go into the seminary. The priest hood is rife with gay men who are in denial of who they are and the relationships they are engaging in. When my husband asked to leave the priesthood he said it was cause he fell in love with another man..they could not endorse that so they asked him to leave quietly and did not laisize him for it would mean endorsing the relationship as legitimate. as a matter of interest they actually told him he could have partners discreetly just not a long lasting relationship..that is how screwed up the catholic church is
Victor_in_PA
I have absolutely NO sympathy for him. IMO, any official of the catholic church who is caught in ANY kind of sexual scandal, should be burned at the stake. Looks like the catholic church is finally reaping a minuscule amount of what they’ve sown over the centuries.
2eo
@Victor_in_PA: Indeed, they actively choose to work against their fellow man, every chance should be taken to decimate their faith every chance we get, without exception.
hotshot70
Not far from where they have the Conclave is a gay massage parlor, so I bet that place gives discount rates for them. Call it “Cardinal rates”. How many altar boys have they fondled there?
Teleny
Ten years ago I met an older man who told me as a kid he would go on Church retreats and all it basically consisted of orgies with priests. This has been going on a long time and this international bunch of closet queens is finally being exposed for what it is: a hypocritical bunch of closet cases!
Donald Hull
As a gay male I believe ones ‘call’ to priestly life should be to the agreed upon celibate life, not a ‘dating site’ And, having graduated from a Catholic seminary myself, I can honestly say I received more propositions for gay sex during those years than all of the rest of my life combined…NOT GOOD! I have also served on a ‘board of diversity’ for one of my employers and am a firm believer in “ZERO TOLERANCE”…if one cannot observe the rules, resign…make a predatory move and, YOU’RE FIRED.
Jeff J
Confessions of a Gay Married Priest: A Spiritual Journey (Maurice L. Monette) Amazon, 2013) offers healthy alternatives to a Church better known for its sex scandals/crimes than its social justice and works of charity. Cover testimonials include spiritual guru Fr. Richard Rohr, GLBT activist Sr. Jeannine Gramick and global human rights leader Mariela Castro. It’s beyond time for change. http://www.gaymarriedpriest.com
yaoming
I wonder when “pooped pope” Ratzinger’s longtime boyfriend will come forward. We are still waiting for the truth about that situation.
Allen D.
“suing O’Brien for groping and kissing him” HUH?! I don’t remember anything saying that these other men were children (one would assume that even Queerty wouldn’t miss a bullet point like that).
So can I start suing every time someone cops a feel in a bar?
MuscleModelBlog.com
@Joseph:
@Donald Hull:
Wow, thanks for sharing. Both of your posts were very enlightening. I think that the Church–and everyone, really–needs to realize that the real world is not “Leave It To Beaver” and that humans are sexual creatures. I think it’s better to have things out in the open than hidden…these poor priests, like many closeted men, can only have superficial, physical relationships and not long-lasting, emotional relationships. So sad.
darkmoonman
Why do those who insist on remaining in the closet spend their time and energy trying to deny the rest of us the rights we deserve as human beings?
Jay Sheckley
We really ARE everywhere! HEAR ABOUT THE Supreme Court PROP 8 LEAK here 😀 – https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200931551155650&set=a.4447106620412.180092.1371822976&type=1&theater¬if_t=photo_comment
Bob LaBlah
There is only one way the catholic church can save itself: accept that times have changed and it must too by allowing priests to marry. I can not understand why people would go seek advice for problems with family, marriage, sex and such from a man who is not allowed to have none of the above. I mean really, does it make ANY sense at all?
*
I went to catholic school as a kid and I am here to tell you that you would not believe the bullshit that you are fed. The one story that I will never forget when I was all of seven years old and rehearsing with the other kids for our confirmation went like this:
Priest: “children, do you know how the robin redbreast go that way”?
Us: “No father”.
Priest: “When Christ was on the cross a bird landed at the foot of the cross. A drop of blood from his foot landed on the breast of the bird and that is how it (the robin redbreast) came to be”. How’s that for divine truth? I kid you not, it really did happen.
*
From that day on I became and aethiest and was slapped several times in the mouth by my mom and dad when I protested about going to church on Sunday to here more of that bullshit that those lonely, lost men stand in front of their ignorant flocks and preach.
*
We are in 2013 and people still believe that a man in the sky is looking down on us and if we don’t do as his charlatans preach we wont enter paradise. I’ve wondered many a day how many people realize that the sky goes on for infinity.
Akod69
‘Father Peter’:“I was vulnerable and he knew that. He was very charismatic and I couldn’t believe his interest in me. I thought he was helping me.” and another one “I see the bigger picture: the cleansing of the church.” What a turd this Father Peter is!!! Hypocrite, a true hypocrite… Shame on him!