Vatican: Cardinal’s Penance

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/16/world/europe/vatican-cardinals-penance.html

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The Scottish cardinal who resigned as archbishop after admitting to sexual misconduct will leave Scotland for months of prayer and atonement, the Vatican said Wednesday. Cardinal Keith O’Brien recused himself from the March conclave that elected Pope Francis after a newspaper reported accusations by unidentified priests that he had acted inappropriately toward them. Cardinal O’Brien, then Britain’s highest ranking Catholic leader, subsequently acknowledged he had engaged in unspecified sexual misbehavior. He resigned as archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, apologized and promised to stay out of the church’s public life. On Wednesday, the Vatican said he would leave Scotland for several months of “prayer, penance and spiritual renewal” for the same reasons he decided not to participate in the conclave. The statement did not say if the arrangements were imposed on him by the Vatican, or if he had volunteered. The Vatican said his departure was done “in agreement with the Holy Father.”