The three priests allege they were also the subject of unwanted sexual advances from O'Brien. The four complained to Antonio Mennini, the  's ambassador to  . After the story was made public on Sunday, the Vatican confirmed  had been made aware of the complaints. The cardinal had been outspoken in his condemnation of proposals to legalise  , calling it a "grotesque subversion of a universally accepted human right", and saying gay relationships are "harmful to the physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing of those involved". Last year, the gay rights charity awarded O'Brien the title of "bigot of the year". The gay rights campaigner described O'Brien as "hypocritical": "He appears to have preached one thing in public while doing something different in private. Several other prominent opponents of equal marriage are guilty of double standards and vulnerable to similar exposure. They include anti-gay clergy and politicians. It is estimated that around 40\% of  priests in Britain are gay, which makes the church’s opposition to gay equality so two-faced and absurd." O'Brien has questioned whether the continued requirement that priests be celibate and unmarried should continue. In an interview with  Scotland, he said: "There was a time when priests got married, and of course we know at the present time in some branches of the church — in some branches of the Catholic church — priests can get married, so that is obviously not of divine of origin and it could get discussed again."
The three priests allege they were also the subject of unwanted sexual advances from O'Brien. The four complained to Antonio Mennini, the Vatican 's ambassador to Britain . After the story was made public on Sunday, the Vatican confirmed Pope Benedict had been made aware of the complaints. The cardinal had been outspoken in his condemnation of proposals to legalise same-sex marriage , calling it a "grotesque subversion of a universally accepted human right", and saying gay relationships are "harmful to the physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing of those involved". Last year, the gay rights charity awarded O'Brien the title of "bigot of the year". The gay rights campaigner described O'Brien as "hypocritical": "He appears to have preached one thing in public while doing something different in private. Several other prominent opponents of equal marriage are guilty of double standards and vulnerable to similar exposure. They include anti-gay clergy and politicians. It is estimated that around 40\% of Catholic priests in Britain are gay, which makes the church’s opposition to gay equality so two-faced and absurd." O'Brien has questioned whether the continued requirement that priests be celibate and unmarried should continue. In an interview with BBC Scotland, he said: "There was a time when priests got married, and of course we know at the present time in some branches of the church — in some branches of the Catholic church — priests can get married, so that is obviously not of divine of origin and it could get discussed again."
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Vatican
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Britain
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Pope Benedict
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same-sex marriage
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Catholic
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BBC