Deveney said that this issue was no longer about personal failure, but systemic failure, and reported that theologian Werner Jeanrond said "As a church, we have failed to come to terms with homosexuality. The highest clerical representative of the church is himself a victim of the system which didn't allow him to own his homosexuality." She added that there are many other scandals involving Scottish clergy, including at least one bishop; misdeeds include sexual misconduct, heavy drinking, payoffs to cover scandals and serious abuse; and she said that "O'Brien knows where the bodies lie. And the hierarchy knows he knows." She said that the issue was not about Scottish clergy, but was worldwide.
