LONDON (AP) -  Catholic officials say they are looking into allegations of "inappropriate behavior" by Cardinal Keith O'Brien, Britain's most senior Catholic cleric.

Peter Kearney, a spokesman for the Scottish Catholic Church, said Sunday that O'Brien is contesting the claims made by British newspaper The Observer. The paper reported that three priests and a former priest have filed complaints to the Vatican alleging that O'Brien made inappropriate approaches to them.

The paper did not cite the names of the priests or detail the nature of the allegations. It said some of the claims date back to the 1980s.

Kearney said that O'Brien is taking legal advice and declined to comment further.

A Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said "The pope has been informed, and the question is in his hands."

Comment on this article

Title

Comments

Your Name (optional - shown on website)

Validation Code (Case Sensitive)

Enter validation code seen above