The archbishop said he was aware of Benedict's intentions well in advance of the public announcement of his resignation.

He said that he argued against resignation, but the Pontiff "was not to be shaken" and believed his physical decline made it impossible to fulfill the responsibilities of the Petrine office.

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Archbishop Roberto Gonzalez Nieves of San Juan has not confirmed that he has been asked to step down as leader of the Catholic Church in the United States island territory.

But, after local Catholics held a rally of support for him, he asked them instead to pray for him.

The Vatican has apparently accused Archbishop Gonzalez Nieves of several offences, including protecting paedophile priests, abusing his power, and promoting Puerto Rican independence from the US.

A Puerto Rican radio station has released the leaked text of a letter from the archbishop to Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for Bishops.

In it the archbishop said he will not willingly step down. He denied the accuracy of complaints against him, saying he was profoundly offended and hurt by the gravity of the accusations, and asked for evidence to back them up.

"It caused me great dismay, first, because they were false and distorted, and second, because it seemed that my guilt was prejudged," he said. "In fact, it's not clear if these accusations are final and if so, what investigation prompted them."

Supporters of Archbishop Gonzalez charge that the charges against him are politically motivated and have accused a cardinal and a former Puerto Rican governor of being behind the allegations.

He has also been defended by non-Catholics. Church of God Bishop Naphtali Rodriguez Marrero of San Juan called him an "extraordinary" pastoral leader, and addded that he, too, blames "political and religious opponents who do not share his views".

Archbishop Gonzalez Nieves, who was born in the US, is aged 62 — 13 years below the normal retirement age for bishops.

Sources:

Associated Press

NewsMax

Image: Abyssum

A spokesman for the group said some of the mayors "would resign if the law is adopted", while others "have said they will refuse" to perform marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples.

The French Senate has passed the gay-marriage bill, but it has yet to go before the National Assembly.

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Cardinal O'Brien had been the most senior Catholic in Britain until his resignation was accepted by Pope Benedict XVI on February 18 after three priests and a former priest accused him of "inappropriate acts" in the 1980s.

These allegations were made to the papal nuncio in London and later published in The Observer newspaper.

The 74-year-old former archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh apologised to those he had offended, to the Catholic Church and to the people of Scotland.

After the cardinal's resignation was accepted, further allegations were published by The Scotsman newspaper, which said another priest had complained last October about his "inappropriate behaviour" in 2001.

The Scotsman said the priest was believed to have written directly to Rome because he did not think he could trust the Church hierarchy in Scotland to handle the matter.

The report said news of this complaint spread inside the Church and then the other four men felt the confidence to come forward with their complaints.

The paper said the October complaint led to the Vatican contacting Cardinal O'Brien and a "deal" being brokered by Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Quebec City for the departure of the leader of Scotland's Catholics.

In recent years Cardinal O'Brien had been a strong critic of same-sex relationships, saying they were "demonstrably harmful to the medical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing of those involved".

Archbishop Philip Tartaglia of Glasgow, who has been appointed apostolic administrator of St Andrews and Edinburgh until a new archbishop is chosen, has said the archdiocese is in a "state of shock for the loss of its shepherd".

Sources:

The Guardian

The Scotsman

Keith O'Brien (Wikipedia)

Image: The Guardian