ONE of Scotland’s leading Catholics will hold a memorial mass for the disgraced late Cardinal Keith O’Brien at his former diocese in Edinburgh one month after his modest funeral, it has been revealed.
His successor Archbishop Leo Cushley will lead the month’s mind mass at St Mary’s Cathedral for the cardinal who stepped down as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh and relinquished all duties after admitting sexual misconduct in 2013.
The church has insisted the cathedral is the correct location for the mass to be held as that is the seat of Cardinal O’Brien’s former parish.
But it comes after it was revealed the late cardinal will not be accorded a full requiem mass in his own diocese and will not be buried at the cathedral. Instead, he is to be interred at Mount Vernon Cemetery, Edinburgh, in the same grave as his parents, which the Church said was in accordance with his own wishes.
It has been suggested that those who remained loyal to Cardinal O’Brien, despite his fall from grace, had felt his years of dedication to the church had not been fully recognised by the funeral mass that will take place in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
One source said: “Archbishop Leo Cushley is trying to be a man of all seasons and appeal to both sides of the divide. It will be interesting to see how many bishops will take part in the requiem mass and whether cardinals come from Ireland.”
Cardinal O’Brien withdrew from public life in February 2013 after three priests and a former priest alleged improper sexual conduct in the 1980s.
He later apologised, saying his behaviour had “fallen beneath the standards” expected of him.
The funeral arrangements, which were made with input from Pope Francis, aim to resolve a dilemma for the Church over how to honour the disgraced Cardinal and draw a line under the scandal.
A month’s mind mass is a traditional Catholic custom dating back to medieval times. It sees a requiem mass offered for the repose of the soul of the deceased and for the forgiveness of their sins.
Meanwhile, fresh tributes have been paid to Cardinal O’Brien by his friend Father Seamus Ahearne, of the Diocese of Dublin, who defended his “flamboyant” former colleague.
Father Ahearne wrote: “Keith was full of humanity and humour. He had mischief and fun. He added colour to faith. He was flamboyant and always lit up the face of the Church. It was extremely sad that he had to resign on his 75th birthday. There were good reasons. Somehow we don’t cope too well with failure as a church. The pedestal is very high. But isn’t our history as church, built (historically) on sin and confession? I found it difficult to reconcile a forgiving church with the exile of Keith.”
READ MORE: O'Brien 'groped' priest the day he became a cardinal
He added: “Keith retained his bright outlook on life even during those past five years: a smile on the face of God. Keith reflected that smile during his life in Scotland and during his retirement. He had the common touch. We miss such characters of faith.”
A spokesman for the Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh said: “A month’s mind mass is a very common, very normal, very ancient part of Catholic piety allowing, as it does, for people to gather 30 days after a death in order to pray for the repose of the departed’s soul and also to ask for the forgiveness of their sins.”
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