Tag Archives: Archbishop

Scottish Cardinal O’Brien steps down

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The Archbishop of Edinburgh and Saint Andrews, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, resigned today after allegations of “improper behavior” with young priests. He will not take part in the forthcoming conclave.

Cardinal-Keith-OBrien

The highest ranking dignitary of the Catholic Church in Britain, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, has resigned. This was announced by the Catholic Church of Scotland on Monday. According to the release, Pope Benedict XVI. had already accepted the resignation on February 18. O’Brien himself announced the Pope had assigned his resignation as Archbishop of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh for February 25.

O’Brien had so far been among the 117 Cardinals who are eligible to vote in the election of the new Pope after the resignation announcement of Pope Benedict XVI. Now he declared he will not take part in the Conclave to the election. He justified his retirement with the fact, that he did not want to draw media attention in Rome on his person. These should be focused on Pope Benedikt and his successor. The 74-year-old is the only British clergyman who should belong to the conclave.

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Disgraced U.S. Cardinal Roger Mahony admitted to the conclave

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The, burdened by an abuse scandal, Ex-Archbishop of Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony, may in the opinion of Cardinal Velasio de Paolis attend the papal election, despite ecclesiastical sanctions.

cardinal-roger-mahonyCardinal Roger Mahony

“According to the regulations, every Cardinal under 80 had the right and duty to appear at the Conclave”, said de Paolis, former Secretary of the Supreme Church Court of the Signature, to Italian newspaper “La Repubblica”.

The 76-year-old Mahony is under fire because of his handling of abuse cases in his time as a Diocesan director from 1985 to 2011. According to archive documents, published in January by the Archdiocese, Mahony specifically protected pädophile priests from the State prosecution. His successor Archbishop Jose Gomez called the acts “brutal and painful to read”. In an unprecedented act for the American Church, he relieved Mahony from all remaining positions and banned him from public work in Los Angeles.

archbishop-jose-gomezArchbishop Jose Gomez

“His conscience must decide”

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The possible successor to Pope Benedict XVI.

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These are some possible successor to the papacy:

OSCAR ANDRES RODRIGUEZ MARADIAGA (70) of Honduras, a Salesian, was sometimes hailed as the rising star of the Latin American Church. The polyglot cleric speaks a and passable German due to his psychotherapy studies in Innsbruck, Austria. He is an avid musician and is also open to ecumenical questions.

JORGE MARIO BERGOGLIO (76), is the Archbishop of Buenos Aires in Argentina and makes himself strong for the socially disadvantaged. Being a Jesuit, it is difficult to estimate whether this can be a disadvantage or advantage. Never in the history of the church was a Jesuit pope.

CHRISTOPH SCHÖNBORN (67): The Archbishop of Vienna has a reputation as a crisis manager after the scandals involving Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer and Bishop Kurt Krenn, but is also known for his conciliatory and pragmatic dialogue. After the resignation of Groer, who was involved in a child sex scandal in 1995, he became his successor. He made himself a name in the world as an editor of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. His liberal statements on homosexuality have caused some debates within the church.

Peter Erdö (60): The Hungarian is the Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest since 2003. He is also Primate of the country. In 2006 he was appointed President of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences.

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