Pope Benedict XVI may have announced his retirement after a ring of gay priests was discovered in the Vatican, according to the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
It all started last May when the Pope’s butler, Paolo Gabriele, was arrested for leaking almost 300 pages of papal correspondence that suggested there was trouble in Catholic Paradise—including a faction of priests “united by sexual orientation,” some of whom were being blackmailed.
A commission headed by Cardinal Julián Herranz of Spain was formed to investigate the “Vikileaks” scandal, but its report has not been made public. But according to La Repubblica, a Vatican insider says the report details “the non-observance of the sixth and seventh commandments” (i.e. “Thou Shall Not Steal” and “Thou Shall Not Commit Adultery”).
Even the locations of clandestine trysts were supposedly included in the report. The Guardian reports:
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La Repubblica said the cardinals’ report identified a series of meeting places in and around Rome. They included a villa outside the Italian capital, a sauna in a Rome suburb, a beauty parlor in the center, and a former university residence that was in use by a provincial Italian archbishop.
This is hardly the first time rumors of a pink posse in the Vatican have circulated: In 2007 a senior official was suspended after getting caught hitting on a young man. In 2010, a Vatican chorister was dismissed for hiring hustlers—the same year Panorama magazine’s hidden cameras captured priests wearing drag and having sex in bathhouses.
And just last week conspiracy theorists claimed Benedict was resigning because he was about to face criminal charges for protecting child-molester priests.
If this cabal of closeted clerics is real, we’re not sure how Pope Benedict falling on his miter would squelch the scandal. But we don’t pretend to understand the machinations of the Holy See.
In a radio address on Saturday, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said he wouldn’t comment on the allegations, but said they had created “a tension that is the opposite of what the Pope and the church want.”
Um, duh.
There is no lack of those who seek to profit from the moment of surprise and disorientation of the spiritually naive to sow confusion and to discredit the Church and its governance, making recourse to old tools, such as gossip, misinformation and sometimes slander, or exercising unacceptable pressures to condition the exercise of the voting duty on the part of one or another member of the College of Cardinals, who they consider to be objectionable for one reason or another.
In the majority of cases, those who present themselves as judges, making heavy moral judgments, do not, in truth, have any authority to do so. Those who consider money, sex and power before all else and are used to reading diverse realities from these perspectives, are unable to see anything else, even in the Church, because they are unable to gaze toward the heights or descend to the depths in order to grasp the spiritual dimensions and reasons of existence. This results in a description of the Church and of many of its members that is profoundly unjust.
So basically shame on everyone for suggesting the Church has done a slew of terrible things—even if it did them.
Dionte
I wouldn’t be surprised.
1EqualityUSA
Something’s fishier than Friday over there. Google images “evil pope” and see what comes up. gnarley! Evil incarnate. Can’t hide that kind of spirit. His face is morphing into a demonic spawn. How many children suffered under their guise? How many parishioners still fund their sex brigade? How many senators and supreme court justices are still under their creepy spell? The house is dirty.
2eo
@1EqualityUSA: Frankly I am legitimately unnerved that the Pope, the head of an organisation that has feelers in everything on the planet [especially children] looks EXACTLY like the ultimate incarnation of evil, Emperor Palpatine.
One and the same?, his actions and appearance absolutely agree with this assessment.
yaoming
I’ve said all along there’s just about zero chance the pope is pooped – i.e. retiring because he’s too tired to carry out his duties. (Does anyone remember the last pope? They were practically wheeling him around on a gurney, and he didn’t retire.)
This investigation is probably on to something. Since the pope is resigning, I would guess it has something to do with him, too. (I wonder what evidence they have on him.)
balehead
And yet the Catholic Church in Rome is full of gays….interesting indeed….
Caleb in SC
How about this conspiracy theory? Benedict was an old man when Pope John Paul II died and was hoping for retirement following the death of his close friend. Instead, he was elected as an Interim Pope because the College of Cardinals did not want another Pope to serve was long as John Paul II did. After eight years of service, he discovered that he had a terminal illness and wanted to take some time off for himself. End of story. I predict Pope Benedict will be dead within a year. Good for him for wanting a little time off at the end after so many years.
2eo
@Caleb in SC: I sincerely and completely hope the paedophile is suffering every hour of every day until he dies, and he is forgotten.
alexoloughlin
And they’re blaming gays for adultery in violation of the 7th commandment? It beggars belief when you consider most gays in most countries, especially Italy, can’t even get married or have any equality. Delusional bigoted fools.
Now Cardinal O’Brien of Scotland, the UK’s catholic leader is embroiled in a gay sex scandal just before he retires. Karma is a bitch for the hierarchy. What they reap, so shall they sew. I am gloating after this evil bastard launched a hate campaign to ban equal marriage in Scotland and the rest of the UK. If anything, it’s going to help it pass into law as catholics become even more disillusioned with the bigotry and hypocrisy they’re being fed.
1EqualityUSA
Lightning hit the vatican 1 hour after the pope retired. What’s in store for O’Brien?
Wilberforce
I thought from the beginning his retirement was strategic, to put someone in who has no knowledge of the cover up, and who therefore cannot be held to account. It’s pretty obvious, and this news doesn’t change that explanation.
1EqualityUSA
Pink Posse Priests exposed. Love it.
mulletkitty
@1EqualityUSA:
Can we just take a moment to appreciate how awesome the phrase “Fishier than Friday” is for dealing with all sorts of Catholic shenanigans!