Disgraced Cardinal Keith O’Brien, who stepped down from his post after allegations he made advances toward at least four priests, was allegedly in a “longstanding physical relationship” with one of them.



The Daily Mail reports that O’Brien, former head of the Catholic Church in Scotland, had a priest boyfriend for years, one who made frequent visits to O’Brien’s official residence in Edinburgh.

His beau was going to go to the press, supposedly, until the Cardinal stopped him.

O’Brien, 75 has been vocal in his attacks on homosexuality and equal marriage, which he deemed a “grotesque subversion” and equivalent to child abuse and slavery. Vatican insiders initially tried to downplay the accusations as coming from part of a supposed “gay cabal” in the Church looking for revenge against O’Brien.

These guys, we now know, were part of an inner circle. In the 30 years since these allegations took place there’s been ample time to complain. The Cardinal has had a huge profile for the past decade. But the door wasn’t just shut on them, it was bolted in the past 18 months,’ another said. I believe they wanted to silence O’Brien – as he’s about to do another conclave, and make a huge deal of it. As he’s retiring, a decision’s been taken to go public and take him down,’ he claimed.

But in an interview with the Observer, “Father Peter”—who admits to a longtime relationship with the Cardinal—says he came forward for “altruistic reasons: “I see the bigger picture: the cleansing of the church.”

Father Peter also says he’s in therapy for what he now considers abuse: “I was vulnerable and he knew that. He was very charismatic and I couldn’t believe his interest in me. I thought he was helping me.”

The ousted holy man is facing a Vatican inquiry, as well as a possible police investigation. One of the accusers, presumably not his boyfriend, is also suing O’Brien for groping and kissing him.