LONDON — Britain’s most senior Roman Catholic cleric has resigned amid allegations of inappropriate behavior made by priests.

The Vatican said Monday that Pope Benedict XVI had formally accepted the resignation of Cardinal Keith O’Brien, archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh. The Observer newspaper reported Sunday that the Vatican had been notified of allegations of inappropriate behavior stretching back 30 years.

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Three priests in Scotland, as well as a former priest, have lodged complaints to the Vatican's ambassador to Britain and demanded O'Brien's immediate resignation, according to the newspaper.

The 74-year-old cardinal has contested the claims and said he is taking legal advice.

O’Brien had been prepared to resign, citing his age as the cause. He turns 75 on March 17, and the Vatican said the pope had in November accepted a resignation letter under the condition of “nunc pro tunc,” meaning “now for later.”

The Vatican said Monday, however, that the pontiff had now accepted the resignation “definitively.”

It means O'Brien will not take part in the conclave to elect the pope's successor - a process that could begin earlier than March 15 after the rules governing the process were changed in a move announced Monday.

O’Brien said in a statement that it was the pope himself who had decided his resignation would take effect immediately.

“Approaching the age of 75 and at times in indifferent health, I tendered my resignation … some months ago,” he said. “The Holy Father has now decided that my resignation will take effect today.”

O'Brien would have been Britain's only elector in the papal conclave that will gather to decide on a successor to Benedict XVI.

"I will not join them for this conclave in person," O'Brien said. "I do not wish media attention in Rome to be focused on me -- but rather on Pope Benedict XVI and on his successor."

A hint of O’Brien’s accelerated resignation was found Sunday in Edinburgh, when the cardinal did not appear as scheduled to lead a Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral. Instead, Bishop Stephen Robson made a statement on O’Brien’s behalf.

“A number of allegations of inappropriate behavior have been made against the cardinal,” the statement said. “The cardinal has sought legal advice, and it would be inappropriate to comment at this time. There will be further statements in due course.”

Robson is an auxiliary prelate in the Edinburgh diocese.

O'Brien's statement went on to say: "I have valued the opportunity of serving the people of Scotland and overseas in various ways since becoming a priest. Looking back over my years of ministry: For any good I have been able to do, I thank God. For any failures, I apologize to all whom I have offended."

Controversy
O’Brien had gained a reputation as a hard-line conservative and opponent of gay rights.

In 2009, O’Brien urged the Scottish National Party to abandon plans to give gay couples the same foster-parenting rights as straight ones, calling the idea “misguided” and saying that gays were known for unstable relationships.

Last year, he wrote an editorial in the Daily Telegraph in which he urged people to stand up against a proposal to allow gay marriage, which he said was “madness.” He referred then to same-sex marriage as a “grotesque subversion of a universally accepted human right.”

O’Brien’s stance and other comments led the gay rights group Stonewall UK last year to nominate him for its “Bigot of the Year” award.

“Ten-thousand people overwhelmingly, decisively voted that he should be given that award,” said Colin MacFarlane, director of Stonewall Scotland. “We don’t call people a bigot because they disagree with us. We reserve that for people who use the kind of language the cardinal has used. He has gone out of his way. It has not been fair discourse. His language has been cruel, hurtful and pernicious.”

The group's response to news of O'Brien's resignation was unsurprising.

“We trust there will now be a full investigation into the serious allegations made against Cardinal O’Brien,” MacFarlane said. “We hope his successor will show a little more Christian charity towards openly gay people than the cardinal did himself.”

Two weeks ago, the pope’s brother, the Rev. Georg Ratzinger, said scandals had troubled Benedict XVI and may have contributed to his decision to retire.

He specifically mentioned that Benedict had been bothered by the "Vatileaks" scandal in which a butler leaked secret documents, as well as the "the relationship to the Pius Brotherhood."

That organization, formally known as the Society of St. Pius X, fell into a harsh public spotlight in December when its leader, Bishop Bernard Fellay, said Jews were "the enemies of the church." His comment drew criticism from all corners of the church and from the public in general.

Georg Ratzinger said he thought his brother had handled those problems well but that they had taken their toll.

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This story was originally published on Mon Feb 25, 2013 6:55 AM EST

Two U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents “facilitated a sexual encounter” between a prostitute and a U.S. Secret Service agent days before President Barack Obama visited Colombia for a summit meeting in April 2012, according to a Justice Department investigation obtained exclusively by NBC News.

A summary of the findings of the investigation, included in a Dec. 20 letter from the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General to Sens. Joseph Lieberman and Susan Collins, indicated that a third DEA agent present on the night of the incident was not involved in procuring the prostitute for the Secret Service agent.

“While DEA agent #3 was present for a dinner that took place earlier that evening with the USSS agent and the other two DEA agents, he was not present in the residence when the sexual encounter took place and played no role in facilitating it,” the summary said.

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All three DEA special agents admitted that they had paid for sexual services of a prostitute,  the investigation also found, and “used their DEA Blackberry devices to arrange such activities.” In addition, the report says the agents tried to destroy incriminating information or initially lied to investigators about the incidents. All three agents have high-security clearances.

The summary concluded that the agents’ actions did not warrant criminal prosecution.  It said the U.S. Attorney’s Office also “declined to initiate legal proceedings.” It said the case had been referred to the DEA for “action it determines to be appropriate.”

In a letter sent Wednesday to DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart, Collins, R-Maine, called the findings “troubling” and the conclusion that law enforcement officials obstructed the OIG investigation “deeply troubling.” She also asked Leonhart to explain why  – nearly four months after the Office of the Inspector General referred the matter to the DEA -- “It is my understanding that those administrative actions are still pending.”

In a statement, DEA spokesman Rusty Payne said, "The Drug Enforcement Administration takes these matters very seriously. Any allegations of misconduct or wrongdoing by DEA personnel are thoroughly investigated and then reviewed by DEA's Board of Professional Conduct for any disciplinary action warranted. This matter is currently under review by the Board of Professional Conduct."

A DEA official, speaking on condition of anonymity, first said that while senior officials learned of the OIG’s findings in September, the agency was not allowed to act until the OIG concluded and presented its findings on Dec. 20. Later, the official acknowledged that that was not correct and that the OIG had officially referred its findings on Sept. 17.  

Sources briefed on the scandal have told NBC News that approximately a dozen members of the Secret Service security detail  hit the clubs of Cartagena on the evening of April 11, 2012, for a night of drinking that ended with them bringing women back to their hotel rooms.

Some of the women received money, and others did not ask for any, but in one case, an agent refused to pay, and the woman summoned a police officer. That led to an angry encounter that resulted in the debauchery becoming public.

The scandal led to the resignation or retirement of nine of 12 implicated Secret Service employees. Three others were cleared of serious misconduct but still could be disciplined.

The Pentagon also launched an investigation of a dozen military members in connection with the scandal. No disciplinary action has been announced as a result of that investigation.

Lisa Myers is NBC News' senior investigative correspondent; Mike Brunker is an NBC News investigations editor.

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A woman identifying herself as the Colombian prostitute at the center of a scandal involving U.S. Secret Service agents spoke publicly about the incident for the first time on Friday, telling a Colombian radio network that, had she been a terrorist, she could have easily pried loose details of President Barack Obama’s planned visit to Cartagena from the liquored-up agents. 

“At that moment, if I had wanted to, or if I had been part of one of those terrorist groups, it's obvious I would have been able to get everything," the woman, Dania Londono Suarez, told Caracol Radio. 

Suarez said the Secret Service personnel did not consume drugs, but “bought alcohol like one buys water” while partying at a discotheque in the tourist destination before inviting some of the “escorts” to return with them to the Hotel Caribe, where many members of Obama’s security detail were staying.

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Suarez said she didn't know if there were other girls or how many agents were involved. "I was at the bar with another girl, but left with him by myself. I was the only one." 

 

 

Suarez said she made clear that she expected to be paid before departing with the agent whose refusal to pay her led to exposure of the misconduct. 

“I was at a disco and he came over and told me 'sex,'" she said. "... I said, 'Baby, Cash, Money,' that I wanted money. He said, 'OK, baby. How much?' 'Eight hundred.' He told me, 'Eight hundred. OK, let's go. Come, come to hotel.'

"It was obvious. I can't believe he would be so dumb or so stupid to think I wasn't going to charge him money."

But she said that the agent had a change of heart when they awoke in his room about 6 a.m.

Watch the most-viewed videos on msnbc.com 

“When he was drunk he was the nicest guy, but when he woke up sober, he was another person,” Suarez said. “When I asked him for the money, he told me ‘Let go, bitch.’ He pushed me into the hallway and closed the door. He wouldn't come out. I kept pounding on the door. Hotel security came.  The called the head of the hotel's security and I explained what happened to him on the phone.” 

Suarez, who has a 9-year-old son, said she traveled to Dubai after the incident but had returned to Colombia despite concern that she could face retaliation from the tarnished Secret Service personnel. 

"I fear they will retaliate against me," she said. "I left my country, practically fled. Yes I am scared. I fear or my family and for my son. No one has threatened me, no one has come to see me, but their marriages have been wrecked, they're sharp shooters, because I've been doing some research and I know they do that."

She also said her career as an escort is over: "I do not plan to that ever again," she said. "They ruined my life. They should have never published my pictures, my name." 

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The Secret Service has declined to comment on the interview. According to an official with the Secret Service the agency is close to completing its internal investigation of the incident, which occurred prior to the Summit of the Americas on April 14-15. 

The 12 Secret Service personnel at the center of the investigation were among 175 members of the service in Colombia during Obama’s visit. They were among 135 staying at the Hotel Caribe, the source said.

Seven of those members of the agency have resigned, one has been terminated and one has retired, NBC News has reported previously. Three others have been cleared of serious misconduct but given administrative punishment.  

Meantime, a separate investigation into U.S. military personnel who were allegedly involved in the incident has been concluded and forwarded to a commander for review, military and defense officials tell NBC News. 

According to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the U.S. military investigator looking into the incident zeroed in on a dozen uniformed personnel assigned to the security operation -- seven Army personnel (six Special Forces Green Berets and one White House communications specialist); two Navy bomb detection specialists, two Marine dog handlers and one member of the Air Force whose duties were not specified. 

SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Douglas Frazier will review the report and determine what, if any, punishment should be meted out. Once he formally accepts the findings of the investigation, he has four options: 

• Clear any or all the individuals of any wrongdoing.
• Administrative action (a letter of reprimand, usually a career-ender).
• Non-Judicial punishment (reduction in rank and pay).
• Criminal charges and court martial. 

In the Uniformed Code of Military Justice, consorting with or procuring the services of a prostitute is prohibited and considered a criminal act.

Erika Angulo is an NBC News producer based in Miami; NBC's Chief Pentagon Correspondent Jim Miklaszewski and Kristen Welker of NBC's Washington, D.C., bureau also contributed to this report.

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