The resignation of Britain's top Catholic cleric over claims of sexual misconduct has dealt the Scottish church a "serious blow", his replacement admitted on Monday. Cardinal Keith O'Brien, who resigned last week as the head of the Catholic Church in Scotland, admitted on Sunday that his sexual conduct had "fallen below the standards expected of me". Archbishop Philip Tartaglia, who has temporarily taken over O'Brien's role as administrator of the Archdiocese of Edinburgh and St Andrews, on Monday told an evening mass that it was "a sad moment for the church in our country.