News

Cardinal admits sexual misconduct with priests

‘He started fondling my body, kissing me’

Published

13 years ago

March 6, 2013

Lou Chibbaro Jr.

Cardinal Keith Michael Patrick O’Brien (Photo public domain)

In a dramatic development just days before the selection process for a new Pope was to begin at the Vatican, a British Cardinal admitted in a public statement on March 3 that he engaged in sexual misconduct with priests over a period of more than 30 years.

Cardinal Keith O’Brien, 74, the highest-ranking Catholic leader in the United Kingdom and an outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage, issued his statement one week after he abruptly resigned from all of his church duties.

Last week, the Washington Blade reported that the Vatican was downplaying reports of a gay sex scandal after several allegations, including those against O’Brien.

Church insiders believe his resignation was ordered by outgoing Pope Benedict XVI following a report in the British newspaper The Guardian that three priests and a former priest filed formal complaints accusing him of engaging in “intimate” acts with them against their will in the 1980s.

The complaints were filed with the Vatican’s ambassador to the United Kingdom.

“In recent days certain allegations which have been made against me have become public,” O’Brien said in his statement. “Initially, their anonymous and non-specific nature led me to contest them,” he said.

“However, I wish 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,” he said. “To those I have offended, I apologize and ask forgiveness.”

He added, “To the Catholic Church and the people of Scotland, I also apologize. I will now spend the rest of my life in retirement. I will play no further part in the public life of the Catholic Church in Scotland.

O’Brien had served as head of the Catholic Church in Scotland, where the three current and one former priest said he made inappropriate advances toward them when three of them were young priests and one of them was a seminarian.

O’Brien’s statement of admission and apology came one day after The Observer published a follow-up story providing specific details of the allegations made by the three priests and former priest.

“He started fondling my body, kissing me and telling me how special I was to him and how much he loved me,” The Observer quoted one of the priests as saying.

The former priest told The Observer he was a seminarian when O’Brien used bedtime prayers as an opportunity to make advances toward him.

“I knew myself to be heterosexual, but I did say to others that I thought it would be easier to get through seminary if you were gay,” The Observer quoted him as saying.

The Observer said it chose to report the additional details with the full consent of the three priests and former priest, whose motives had come under attack by some church defenders because they haven’t publicly disclosed their names.

According to The Observer, the four men disclosed their names in the written complaints they filed with the Vatican ambassador to the U.K., Archbishop Antonio Mennini, in early February.

The Observer reports that the four decided to file their complaint after they discovered for the first time earlier this year that each of them had encountered what they believed to be improper advances from O’Brien years earlier.

The paper said the men chose to contact the media about their complaint when church officials led them to believe that little would be done about their revelations and that O’Brien would be going to Rome to help select a new Pope.

“I’d never wanted to ‘out’ Keith just for being gay,” the former priest, who is now married, told The Guardian. “But this was confirming that his behavior towards me was part of his modus operandi. He has hurt others, probably worse, than he affected me,” The Observer quoted him as saying.

“And that only became clear a few weeks ago,” he told The Observer, in noting his recent discovery of the three others to whom O’Brien made inappropriate advances.

The Observer and other British newspapers have reported that support by church critics for exposing O’Brien’s inappropriate behavior toward priests whose careers and duties were under his control was based also on what they believe to be his blatant hypocrisy.

In recent years, O’Brien spoke out harshly against same-sex marriage and warned the Scottish Parliament that Scotland would suffer dire consequences if it legalized civil marriage for same-sex couples.

He called same-sex marriage a “grotesque subversion of a universally accepted human right. Gay activists in the U.K. said they were especially offended by his description of same-sex relationships as unhealthy and inferior to heterosexual relationships. Among other things, he told the media that legal recognition of same-sex marriage would result in schools being required to teach kids “homosexual fairy stories.”

O’Brien’s statement admitting to sexual misconduct makes him the highest ranking Catholic Church official to make such an admission, according to Vatican observers.

The admission came one week after Vatican officials denounced reports in the Italian press that an underground network of gay priests assigned to the Vatican organized meetings for sex and may have been subjected to blackmail.

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Hungary

New Hungarian prime minister takes office

Péter Magyar’s party defeated anti-LGBTQ Viktor Orbán last month

Published

4 hours ago

May 9, 2026

Michael K. Lavers

Péter Magyar votes in Budapest, Hungary on April 12, 2026. He has been sworn in as the country's new prime minister. (Screen capture via APT/YouTube)

Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar took office on Saturday.

Magyar’s center-right Tisza party on April 12 defeated then-Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz-KDNP coalition. Vice President JD Vance less than a week before the election traveled to Budapest, the Hungarian capital, and urged Hungarians to support Orbán.

Orbán had been in office since 2010. He and his government faced widespread criticism over its anti-LGBTQ crackdown.

The European Commission in 2022 sued Hungary, which is a member of the EU, over the country’s anti-LGBTQ propaganda law. The European Union’s top court, the EU Court of Justice, on April 21 struck down the statute.

The EU while Orbán was office withheld upwards of €35 billion ($41.26) in funds to Hungary in response to concerns over corruption, rule of law, and other issues.

Hungarian lawmakers in March 2025 passed a bill that banned Pride events and allowed authorities to use facial recognition technology to identify those who participate in them. MPs later amended the Hungarian constitution to ban public LGBTQ events.

Upwards of 100,000 people last June defied the ban and marched in Budapest’s annual Pride parade.

“Congratulations to [Péter Magyar] on becoming prime minister of Hungary,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on X.

“This Europe Day, our hearts are in Budapest,” she added. “The hope and promise of renewal is a powerful signal in these challenging times.”

“We have important work ahead of us,” noted von der Leyen. “For Hungary and for Europe, we are moving forward together.”

Local

Comings & Goings

Whitman-Walker honors Rep. Sarah McBride

Published

1 day ago

May 8, 2026

Peter Rosenstein

U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected].

Congratulations to Congresswoman Sarah McBride (D-Del.) on being honored with this year’s Stonewall Award from Whitman-Walker Health. Amy Nelson, senior director of Legal Services, said, “Congresswoman Sarah McBride is working to make healthcare accessible to all, and this award recognizes her support of healthcare as a human right. Our legal program supports families facing unprecedented challenges to stay healthy and safe – families that Congresswoman McBride champions with a deep understanding of the issues they face and the legislative expertise of how to support them.”

McBride, in a press release, said, “I am honored to accept this year’s Stonewall Award from Whitman-Walker Health — an organization that has spent 40 years doing vital work to ensure every person can access the dignity of care. In the wealthiest and most developed nation on earth, the ability to receive care should not be a matter of luck—it should be the law of the land. I am proud to be recognized as a partner in this work and to support Whitman-Walker Health in their mission to build a healthier society for all.”

Congratulations also to Wes Drummond who will join Clear Space Theatre Company in Rehoboth Beach, Del., as its third artistic director. Managing Director Joe Gfaller said, “This is an exciting moment of growth for Clear Space as we welcome Wes to join our remarkable team. I am confident he will be an excellent partner as we work with our entire staff, board, and committed team of volunteers, to ensure Clear Space can achieve its full potential in pursuit of our mission to unite and enrich our community through every production on stage, and every arts-based learning program we offer throughout our community.”

On accepting the position Drummond said, “I’m honored to join Clear Space Theatre Company as artistic director, and beyond excited for what we’re about to create together. Clear Space has established itself as a vital and vibrant part of the cultural life of coastal Delaware, and I feel incredibly fortunate to step into this next chapter alongside such a passionate and dedicated team. Rehoboth Beach is a place defined by creativity and community, and I look forward to listening, learning, and building meaningful relationships across the region in the months ahead. My vision is to help Clear Space continue to grow as a bold, forward-thinking, cultural force, that champions fearless storytelling.”

Drummond served in leadership roles at Duluth Playhouse in Duluth, Minn., from 2021 to 2026, including four years as executive director followed by one year as executive producing artistic director, guiding the organization through a period of significant transformation and stability in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a director, he has worked extensively in New York City, Chicago, and at regional theaters across the country, directing both musical theater and plays with a focus on storytelling that bridges classical works with contemporary perspectives. He has collaborated with leading figures in the industry, including Tony Award-winning director Matthew Warchus, and Tony-nominated director Michael Greif. He is an associate member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

Wes earned his MFA in directing, Penn State University, where he studied under Tony-nominated director, Susan H. Schulman.