When Pope Benedict XVI announced earlier this month that he would resign on February 28th, there was a lot of shock and confusion around the world. Was he dying? Was he fed up with the responsibilities of being pope? Was he pushed out? Or was there some scandal behind-the-scenes? According to a report in La Repubblica, there was quite a scandal: they allege the Pope resigned in part because of a report which claims gay Vatican prelates are being blackmailed by a network of male prostitutes.
The paper alleges that the Pope was handed the 300-page dossier, which was compiled by three cardinals investigating the theft of Vatican documents by the Pope's former butler, on Dec. 17, the same day he decided to resign. The report details various gay priests who had sexual encounters with male prostitutes in "a villa outside the Italian capital, a sauna in a Rome suburb, a beauty parlour in the centre, and a former university residence that was in use by a provincial Italian archbishop." The report also included compromising photos and video, including some of the priests filmed in drag and others caught “in the act.”
“Everything revolves around the nonobservance of the Sixth and Seventh Commandments,” a source close to the cardinals who prepared the report told La Repubblica. The Sixth Commandment, “Thou shall not commit adultery,” is used by the Vatican to refer to homosexuality rather than infidelity.
“What’s coming out is very detailed X-ray of the Roman Curia that does not spare even the closest collaborators of the Pope,” wrote respected Vatican expert Ignazio Ingrao in Panorama, as reported by The Daily Beast. “The Pope was no stranger to the intrigues, but he probably did not know that under his pontificate there was such a complex network and such intricate chains of personal interests and unmentionable relationships.”
The Daily Beast adds that much of this information couldn't have been too much of a surprise—In 2010, investigative journalist Carmello Abbate caught some priests on hidden camera "dirty dancing at private parties and engaging in sex acts with male escorts on church property." He wrote an exposé about it called, “Good Nights Out for Gay Priests,” and a subsequent book, Sex and the Vatican. Which has led some to wonder what else could be in that 300-page dossier.
Journalist David Gibson, who wrote a biography on Pope Benedict XVI, weighed in on the story on his blog, and doubted that this scandal was the major factor in the Pope's resignation: "For one thing, Benedict’s resignation was most certainly the result of numerous factors, mainly revolving around the internal problems of the Vatican, of which sexual shenanigans were likely one — but hardly the only one, or even the principal one." Fellow National Catholic Reporter John L. Allen agreed: "No, Benedict didn’t quit under the pressure of a “gay lobby.” But the perceived disarray in the Vatican, which may well be one part perception and one part reality, probably made resignation look even better."
The Vatican secretariat of state issued this statement about the report: "It is deplorable that as we draw closer to the time of the beginning of the conclave … that there be a widespread distribution of often unverified, unverifiable or completely false news stories that cause serious damage to persons and institutions."
