Top UK cardinal acknowledges sexual misconduct

Cardinal OBrien,head of the church in Scotland,is the highest-ranking figure in the churchs recent history to make such an admission. I wish to take this opportunity to admit there have been times that my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest,archbishop and cardinal, Cardinal OBrien,74,said in a statement.

The statement stunned many in the Scottish church and beyond. Some said the cardinals statement appeared to raise the possibility that the undefined sexual activities he acknowledged may not be restricted to the known allegations,the earliest of which relates to 1980. Ordained in 1965,he became an archbishop in 1985,but was not named cardinal until 2003.

Last weekend,The Observer reported the accusations of impropriety with accounts from the four men. The first was a seminarian when Cardinal OBrien,then a priest,served as a powerful supervisory figure in two Scottish seminaries. The others were young priests; it is not clear exactly when in the 1980s they say they were subject to his unwanted advances.

Initially,Cardinal OBrien contested the allegations. But on Sunday,he offered a sweeping apology that was,however,bereft of detail. To those I have offended,I apologize and ask forgiveness, he said. To the Catholic Church and the people of Scotland,I also apologize. I will now spend the rest of my life in retirement.