Top British Cardinal Resigns

Things just keep getting worse at the Vatican. Britain’s top Catholic cleric, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, resigned on Monday as archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh amid allegations of inappropriate behavior with priests. O’Brien will not be allowed to participate in the papal election for Pope Benedict’s successor, leaving Britain without a representative. He was set to retire after taking part in the papal election. On Sunday, Britain’s Observer reported that three priests and one former priest had complained to the pope’s representative in Britain about O’Brien’s behavior, with the former priest accusing O’Brien of making sexual advances toward him in 1980. The complainant said he resigned as a priest “to preserve [his] integrity” after O’Brien became a bishop.