Scottish Cardinal Keith O'Brien's problems apparently did not end with his being sacked just before Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI retired as pontiff on Feb 28. It appears that the cardinal's sex abuse case would be the first that new Pope Francis will have to investigate following claims by the complaining priest that he had a long-term physical relationship with Cardinal O'Brien.

When Pope Benedict quit it post, among the legacies or headaches he left for his successor was to solve a slew of sex abuses cases involving clergymen. The last case to be made public was that of Cardinal O'Brien who not only had to back out of attending the conclave in early March but had to quit days before his official retirement following complaints that he abused three priests and an ex-priest - accusations that had been made way back in the 1980s but were apparently swept then under the rug.

Reports by Scottish daily The Herald that came out on Saturday said that the abuse complaints did not involve casual sex encounters but the first priest complainant actually had a long-term physical relationship with Cardinal O'Brien. It said that the two clergymen had known each other for over three decades and were in close contact through phone calls and meetings in Edinburgh until they had a falling out in 2012.

The priest, who initially left his vocation but eventually returned and assigned in Europe in a post the cardinal helped him secure, turned against the Scottish cardinal as an act of revenge for Cardinal O'Brien being outspoken against homosexuality and gay marriage, describing it as moral degradation and harmful.

The priest submitted his accusation to the Vatican in late 2012 which led to the last-minute firing of Cardinal O'Brien who was then the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh and de factor leader of the 750,000 Catholics in Scotland.

The cardinal initially denied the accusations but later admitted that there were times when his sexual conduct were below standards expected of his as a priest, archbishop and cardinal.

He eventually apologised for his conduct, asked forgiveness and said he will play no further part in public life of the Catholic Church in Scotland, but with a new pope who is bent on reforming the stained image of the Roman Catholic Church, it appears that Cardinal O'Brien would continue to remain in the limelight for sometime as the pope fulfills his promise to run after black sheep who have strayed from the flock.

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