London: Cardinal Keith O`Brien, the most senior Catholic clergyman in Britain to the Vatican has been reportedly involved in inappropriate behaviour stretching back 30 years, three priests and a former priest in Scotland have reported.
The four, from the diocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh, have complained to nuncio Antonio Mennini, the Vatican`s ambassador to Britain, and demanded O`Brien`s immediate resignation.
A spokesman for the cardinal said that the claims were contested.
According to the Guardian, O`Brien, who is due to retire next month, has been an outspoken opponent of gay rights, condemning homosexuality as immoral, opposing gay adoption.
He has most recently argued that same-sex marriages would be `harmful to the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of those involved`, the report said.
Last year he was named `bigot of the year` by the gay rights charity Stonewall.
One of the complainants alleged that the cardinal developed an inappropriate relationship with him, resulting in a need for long-term psychological counseling.
According to the report, the four submitted statements containing their claims to the nuncio`s office the week before Pope Benedict`s resignation on 11 February.
They fear that, if O`Brien travels to the forthcoming papal conclave to elect a new pope, the church will not fully address their complaints, it added.
(ANI)
