The next pope must drive through reforms in the wake of scandals that have hit the Roman Catholic Church, the former head of the Church in England and Wales said on Tuesday.
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the former archbishop of Westminster, said Pope Benedict XVI’s successor must be “capable of the kind of reform and renewal that are needed in the church”.
“The pope’s own house has got to be put in order,” Murphy-O’Connor told a press conference in London.
“As you know there have been troubles in recent years. These have got to be addressed.”
Controversies are swirling around the conclave to elect a replacement for Benedict following the pontiff’s shock resignation on February 11 — only the second of its kind in the Church’s 2,000-year history.
On Monday, Britain’s most senior Catholic cleric Cardinal Keith O’Brien resigned as head of the Church in Scotland following claims that he made sexual advances towards priests, and said he would not take part in the conclave.
O’Brien denies the allegations, which date back to the 1980s, but apologised to anyone offended by “failures” during his ministry.
Murphy-O’Connor said he was “saddened” by O’Brien’s resignation — which leaves Britain without a vote in the conclave — and insisted that the Vatican had not put pressure on him to step down.
“That was his decision to do so. He wasn’t forced to do so, he wasn’t asked to do so,” Murphy-O’Connor said, adding that O’Brien was “a very honest man” who denies the allegations.
“Those matters will be investigated,” he told journalists, adding that the scandal is “very damaging” for the Catholic Church in Scotland.
Campaigners are also calling for several cardinals linked to the paedophile priest scandals that dominated Benedict’s reign to give up their votes in the conclave.
The climate of intrigue has been further stoked by rumours that Benedict’s resignation could have been linked to an explosive report on the “Vatileaks” scandal, which exposed corruption and conflicts in the Church.
The scandal saw Benedict’s butler arrested, convicted and later pardoned for leaking confidential papers to the press.
The Vatican said on Monday that Benedict had seen the report on the scandal and decided that it will be shown exclusively to his successor.
Murphy-O’Connor was part of the conclave that elected Benedict in 2005, but as he turned 80 last August he will not be eligible to vote in this year’s conclave.
However, he flies to Rome on Wednesday for the cardinals’ pre-conclave meetings, where he said reforms would be high on the agenda.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that there has to be reform, that these issues have to be addressed at the highest level,” he said.
New pope must lead reforms after scandals: UK cardinal
