Cardinal Keith O'Brien's ...

... reward punishment:



In the news, Pope Francis accepts Scottish cardinal Keith O’Brien's resignation ...

Pope Francis has accepted the decision of the former leader of the Roman Catholic church in Scotland, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, to step down from clerical duties over allegations of sexual misconduct. O’Brien will retain his title, but he will be reduced to a strictly private life ...

This story comes right after a report in the news that the church has bought O'Brien a home worth £208,750 ($312,849) in Northumberland in which to live.

One will remember that in early 2013, three priests and a former priest in Scotland had reported that O'Brien had sexually harassed them (UK's top cardinal accused of 'inappropriate acts' by priests).

It has taken the Vatican two years to respond to what O'Brien did. We're told O'Brien has now resigned from "clerical duties" but he had already tendered his resignation as archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh to B16 in 2012, to take effect on his 75th birthday in March 2013, and it was accepted by Benedict. It appears then that Pope Francis' punishment of O'Brien consists only in O'Brien remaining a cardinal who has no responsibilities and a nice new home. The mind boggles :(

More on this from David Gibson - Scandal-scarred Cardinal Keith O’Brien renounces ‘rights and privileges’ of his office