Scottish Catholic Observer

Cardinal Keith O’Brien has said he is carrying on as normal after it was revealed that a live bullet had been sent to him in the post and the police had warned him to be ‘cautious’ when opening mail.

The bullet was sent to the cardinal (above with Pope Benedict) ahead of last September’s visit of Pope Benedict XVI by Protestant extremists—an incident the Church decided not to publicise for fear that it would detract from the visit of the Holy Father.

Details of the incident emerged, however, as police continue investigations into lethal packages sent to Celtic FC manager Neil Lennon, Paul McBride QC, who has represented Celtic FC and Mr Lennon, and Celtic supporting former Labour MSP Trish Godman.

The letter is understood to have been headed ‘No surrender’ and warned the cardinal: “If you bring your Pope here . . . this is what he will get.”

The cardinal said that he opened the letter himself and called the incident ‘deeply regrettable.’

“This was a horrific indictment to violence and deeply regrettable,” he said. “But in the end it did not detract from the welcome the Pope received from the vast majority of Scots of all and of no religious affiliations.”

The cardinal added that he was not changing his day-to-day activities and was happily carrying on with his life.

“I’m just getting on as normal,” he said. “It’s not made any difference to my way of life. I’m just getting on with my work. I’m just sad that this sort of thing can and does happen in our country.”

Peter Kearney, director of the Catholic media office, confirmed that he and Cardinal O’Brien had been warned to be ‘cautious when dealing with mail’ by police, and commented that the arrival of the bullet at Cardinal O’Brien’s house was ‘an extremely shocking experience.’
“It happened the week before the Pope’s visit,” Mr Kearney said. “The bullet was sent and accompanied by a very threatening letter.”