Keith O’Brien: disgraced ex-cardinal dies after fall

Cardinal Keith O’Brien, formerly the Catholic Church’s most senior cleric in Britain, has died at the age of 80.

O’Brien, who stepped down as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh in 2013 after admitting to sexual misconduct, suffered a broken collarbone and a head injury in a fall last month, The Scotsman reports.

He had been in the care of the Little Sisters of the Poor in a nursing home in Newcastle. On Friday, his successor, Archbishop Leo Cushley, administered the last rites.

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Archbishop Cushley said today: “In life, Cardinal O’Brien may have divided opinion - in death, however, I think all can be united in praying for the repose of his soul, for comfort for his grieving family and that support and solace be given to those whom he hurt and let down. May he rest in peace.”

O’Brien was ordained archbishop in 1985 and was made a cardinal in 2003.

He resigned after three serving priests and a former priest accused him of improper behaviour dating back to the 1980s. The archbishop initially denied the allegations, but later apologised.

Announcing his retirement from the clergy, O’Brien said he wished to “take this opportunity to admit that there have been times that my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal.

“To those I have offended, I apologise and ask forgiveness. To the Catholic Church and people of Scotland, I also apologise.”

The allegations came as a shock, at odds with the “easy charm and affable manner” which made O’Brien a popular minister, says STV’s Bernard Ponsonby, who describes the former cardinal as “a broken man under the sheer weight of his own hypocrisy”.

Following his resignation, O’Brien lived in Northumberland in a house owned by the Church.