Rome, March 20 (Reuters): Pope Francis has removed the rights and privileges of the former head of the Catholic Church in Scotland, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, two years after he resigned admitting sexual misconduct with young priests decades ago.

The Vatican said today that O'Brien, once Britain's most senior cleric, will retain the title of cardinal but no longer advise the pope or take part in conclaves to elect a new leader for the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.

O'Brien quit as archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh in 2013 shortly after Francis's predecessor Benedict shocked the Catholic world with his own resignation.

He promised to play no further public role in the Church in Scotland and did not take part in the conclave that elected Argentine Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio as the new pontiff.

The Vatican said the pope's ruling was made at the cardinal's request. O'Brien initially denied accusations of misconduct by three priests and one former priest but later admitted that "my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal".

The Vatican conducted an investigation into the case which, according to one of O'Brien's accusers quoted by the London Catholic weekly The Tablet, was "hot enough to burn the varnish" off the pope's desk. O'Brien, repeated the apology he made when he resigned