Catholics' 'greatest crisis' as Cardinal quits

Britain's most senior Roman Catholic clergyman has resigned from his post and given up his vote on the next Pope following claims of "inappropriate" behaviour with priests.

Cardinal Keith O'Brien, the leader of the Church in Scotland, said that as well as standing down as Archbishop of St Andrew's and Edinburgh, he would take no part in the forthcoming conclave to elect Benedict XVI's successor.

A fierce opponent of gay marriage, he said he did not want to become a distraction during the choosing of a new leader for the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.

He would have been the only Briton with a vote in the conclave. His decision to stay away because of a personal scandal is thought to be without precedent.

It has put pressure on a number of other cardinals from the US, Ireland and Belgium, to stand aside from the vote amid allegations of covering up child abuse.

Vatican watchers said that it laid bare a growing sense of crisis at the top of the Church.

One of Scotland's most eminent historians described Cardinal O'Brien's resignation as "probably the gravest single public crisis" for the Scottish Catholic Church since the Reformation. There were predictions that the allegations, if true, would shatter its moral credibility and demoralise the faithful.

The Cardinal has said he will be "contesting" the allegations, published in The Observer at the weekend, and is consulting lawyers. In a statement, the normally plain-spoken cleric said simply: "For any good I have been able to do, I thank God. For any failures, I apologise to all whom I have offended."

Four men - three priests and one former priest - have accused him of "inappropriate" behaviour dating back as far as 1980, before he was Archbishop.

Their claims are particularly damaging given his vehement denunciations of homosexuality. He has described gay marriage as a "grotesque subversion".

The Cardinal was due to retire and had already tendered his resignation to the Pope, citing "indifferent health", but no date had been set. Yesterday (Thursday) the Pope confirmed that it would take immediate effect. The Cardinal said: "The Holy Father has now decided that my resignation will take effect today."

In one of his last acts before stepping down himself, the Pope will put an "Apostolic Administrator" in charge of the archdiocese until a new Archbishop is appointed.

The Cardinal thanked the Pope for his "kindness and courtesy" in the past, adding: "I also ask God's blessing on my brother cardinals who will soon gather in Rome to elect his successor. I will not join them for this conclave in person."

Writing for telegraph.co.uk, Prof Tom Devine, an authority on Scottish history, said: "This is probably the gravest single public crisis to hit the Catholic Church in Scotland since the Reformation and its effects in the short term are incalculable. Many of the faithful in Scotland will be stunned by the seismic turn of events."

But the Cardinal's personal chaplain, Mgr Thomas Chambers, said: "The Church is over 2,000 years old - it's survived a lot. So we'll come through this together." In Rome, officials declined to acknowledge Cardinal O'Brien's decision to step aside from the conclave.

Support groups for victims of paedophile priests renewed calls for others - including Los Angeles's retired Cardinal Roger Mahony, Philadelphia's former Archbishop Justin Francis Rigali, the Belgian Cardinal Godfried Danneels and Ireland's Cardinal Sean Brady - to stand aside as well. Robert Mickens, Rome correspondent for The Tablet, a Catholic magazine, said: "They don't like to set precedents like that but that is why it is very interesting what has happened with O'Brien.

"We don't know whether it was coordinated, if the Holy See has okayed this or even demanded it."

"All I can say is that it looks very, very strange, the timing of this."

Michael Walsh, author of The Cardinals, said: "Other people will be under greater pressure to stay away.

"There has been nothing like this before. It is almost as if the fact that the Pope resigned rather than dying in office has created a degree of instability in the Catholic Church."

The Vatican historian, Ambrogio Piazzoni, said that any decision by a cardinal to stay away would have to be approved by the full College of Cardinals.

Pope Benedict XVI issued a decree yesterday allowing cardinals to bring forward a conclave to elect his successor.

The conclave is traditionally held between 15 and 20 days after the papal seat becomes vacant, although that period normally includes nine days of mourning for a dead pope. "I leave the College of Cardinals the possibility to bring forward the start of the conclave once all cardinals are present," said the Pope, who steps down on Thursday.

Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said the conclave could begin "in the very first days of March". It will be up to the cardinals to decide the exact date on which election will begin.