Francis meets with Scottish archbishop

The Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh met with Pope Francis on Monday to update him on his work in the archdiocese in a discussion that included the topic of his predecessor, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, who was stripped of the rights and duties of his office last year, write Christopher Lamb and Brian Morton.

The cardinal resigned as archbishop in 2013 after allegations of sexual misconduct were made against him by a number of his fellow priests.

A spokesman said the 40-minute meeting was “a cordial face-to-face chat that dealt with a wide range of pastoral issues including a brief discussion of Cardinal O’Brien”.

During the meeting, Pope Francis was invited to visit the Pontifical Scots College in Rome, which marks its 400th anniversary as a seminary in 2016.

Before meeting Archbishop Cushley, the Pope received the apostolic nuncio to Great Britain, Archbishop Antonio Mennini, who had been involved in relaying allegations about Cardinal O’Brien to the Vatican.