Sunday, 24 February 2013

Pope Benedict XVI asks Twitter followers to pray for him as Church faces fresh scandal

Pope Benedict XVI asked his Twitter followers to pray for him and the Church

Pope Benedict XVI has asked his followers on Twitter to ‘pray for me and the Church’ as another scandal threatens to overshadow the selection of his successor.

The Pope delivered his last Sunday blessing to 100,000 people in St. Peter’s Square earlier, before taking to Twitter to ask for the public’s prayers.

‘In these momentous days, I ask you to pray for me and for the Church, trusting as always in divine Providence,’ he wrote on his official English account
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Up to 100,000 people turned up to watch Pope Benedict XVI’s final Sunday blessing (Picture: Getty)

His final Sunday address coincided with Britain’s most senior Roman Catholic cleric, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, missing Mass in St Mary’s Cathedral after being accused of ‘inappropriate behaviour’.

Three priests and one former priest are calling for Cardinal O’Brien’s resignation alongside a complaint against the 74-year-old leader of the Scottish Catholic Church.



The Scottish Catholic Church said in a statement that cardinal O’Brien, who represents Britain’s vote for the next Pope, has contested the claims and was taking legal advice.

The Observer reports that the four men, from the diocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh, made statements to nuncio Antonio Mennini, the Pope’s representative to Britain, about inappropriate behaviour in the 1980s.



Cardinal O’Brien, who is due to retire next month when he turns 75, will vote on behalf of Britain in the papal elections, helping to choose who replaces Pope Benedict XVI when he steps down on February 28.
Cardinal Keith O’Brien has been reported to the Vatican over ‘inappropriate acts’ in the 1980s, it has been claimed

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