Cardinal Keith O'Brien was summoned to Rome as early as October 2012
to answer charges of sexual impropriety.
It was previously thought that
allegations of misconduct had not emerged until February 23, when a
story was published in the Observer describing unwanted sexual
advances allegedly made by the cardinal against three serving priests
and a then-seminarian in the 1980s.
However, after a priest lodged an
allegation with the Congregation for Bishops, Cardinal O'Brien was asked
to travel to Rome to answer the accusation.
The disclosure of the earlier complaint about Cardinal O'Brien's
sexual conduct also casts a new light on the acceptance of his
resignation last November.
Pope Benedict XVI, in anticipation of the cardinal's 75th birthday on March 17 2013, accepted his resignation nunc pro tunc,
meaning "now, for later".
However, once further allegations were made
public, he accepted the cardinal's resignation with immediate effect on
25 February.