Pope sends
Holy See's sex crimes prosecutor Charles Scicluna to look into claims of sexual
misconduct by Scottish prelate
theguardian.com,
Lizzy Davies in Rome, Friday 4 April 2014
Cardinal Keith O'Brien resigned amid allegations from three priests and one former priest, published in the Observer, of sexual misconduct. Photo: Franco Origlia/Getty |
A
Vatican-appointed bishop will fly into Scotland next week to investigate
allegations of sexual misconduct surrounding Cardinal Keith O'Brien, it has
emerged.
O'Brien's
successor as archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, Leo Cushley, announced the
unusual step in letters sent to his clergy this week, according to the National
Catholic Reporter (NCR).
The Pope's
spokesman, Federico Lombardi, told the Guardian he had "nothing to
add" to the report, which said that, following a request from Pope
Francis, the Maltese auxiliary bishop Charles Scicluna would visit the
archdiocese from 8-10 April.
According
to the NCR, Cushley's two letters said Scicluna, the Vatican's former sex
crimes prosecutor, would "listen to and report the testimony offered by
past and present members of the clergy … concerning any incidents of sexual
misconduct committed against them by other members of the clergy
whomsoever."
The bishop
– who co-represented the Holy See at a fierce public grilling by a United Nations panel of experts in January – has asked those wishing to speak to him
to "prepare their narrative in writing", Cushley reportedly added.
The letters reportedly do not mention O'Brien by name.
The move
comes more than a year after O'Brien resigned amid allegations published in the Observer of sexual misconduct from three priests and one former priest. The
Vatican subsequently ordered him to spend a period of time in "prayer and
penance".
Last month,
one of the men appealed directly to Pope Francis to intervene, describing the
church as a "formidable machine" and accusing officials of having
"passed the buck, misrepresented the truth, engaged in cover-up and …
shamelessly procrastinated".
"I
want to ask Pope Francis can you sort this out?" the man told the
Observer.
As the
Argentinian pontiff marked his first year on the papal throne last month, his
response to the sexual abuse scandal was singled out by many observers as a
blind spot in an otherwise impressive record.
In a
statement, Cushley reportedly said Scicluna's visit was "a positive step
towards truth and eventual reconciliation". "This may not be an easy
thing to do, but it is the right thing to do," he added.
A spokesman
for the archdiocese did not return requests for comment.
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