In 2015 "The Glasgow Herald" reported allegations that in at least 40 cases young clerics were encouraged to let O'Brien hear their confessions, and the religious act was used for sexual grooming. There was allegedly reluctance to accept O'Brien's actions as a sexual predator. Victims of O'Brien's sexual abuse felt unable to complain because within the church only a pope has ever been able to discipline a cardinal. After publication of the McLellan Report in 2015 Andrew McLellan said the church's treatment of O'Brien showed that secrecy is still an "important part of the atmosphere" within the church.