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"Vatican hit by gay sex scandal"
"Vatican chorister sacked for allegedly procuring male prostitutes for papal gentleman-in-waiting".
"Angelo Balducci, a Gentleman of His Holiness, was caught by police on a wiretap allegedly negotiating with Thomas Chinedu Ehiem, a 29-year-old Vatican chorister, over the specific physical details of men he wanted brought to him. Transcripts in the possession of the Guardian suggest that numerous men may have been procured for Balducci, at least one of whom was studying for the priesthood."
"The transcripts imply that over a period of around five months in 2008, Ehiem procured for Balducci at least 10 contacts with, among others, "two black Cuban lads", a former male model from Naples, and a rugby player from Rome."
Here's the CNN report if you prefer video. The CNN article states "Italian Official" which is less interesting, and Balducci is indeed arrested for government scandals too, but deep in the article we read "In addition to working for the government, Balducci served as a "gentleman of His Holiness," also known as a papal usher or "Vatican gentleman." The main responsibility of the ceremonial position is to welcome heads of state to the Vatican and escort them to see the pope.
Ehiem told the Italian weekly magazine Panorama in an interview published Friday that he provided Balducci with men from Italy and abroad, including rugby players, actors, models and seminarians.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Justin Bonaparte on -
Uh oh, spaghettiooooos!
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Permalink Reply by Loren Miller on -
The apple doesn't fall very far from the tree, does it ... whether it falls in the US or Ireland or somewhere else in this benighted world!
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Permalink Reply by MaleficVTwin on -
I expect this kind of headline from The Onion. Reading it as real news makes it even better. :)
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Permalink Reply by ɟǝןıx dǝʇɹɐɹ on -
I was just going to post this ! You are faster !
I am expecting to hear in my lifetime about a pope involved in a gay sex scandal. That would be funny. :)
I guess that from those 2000 years of Christianity, 200 were under the leadership of some gay closeted popes anyway.
same article but on huffington post -
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Permalink Reply by Douglas Clifford on -
I have been told that Paul VI was gay (Giovanni Montini); unfortunately, no hard evidence to back this up.
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Permalink Reply by Sentient Biped on -
from Queers in History,
"Paul II died, on July 26, 1471 of a stroke, allegedly whilst being sodomized by a page boy. After his death, one of his successors suggested that he should rather have been called Maria Pietissima, "Our Lady of Pity", because he was inclined to break into tears at times of crisis. Some historians have suggested the nickname was rather due either to Paul propensity to enjoy dressing up in sumptuous ecclesiastical finery, or his likely homosexuality"
also
Pope Julius III
...His lasting fame, or notoriety, rests rather on his relationship with the 17 year old boy whom he raised to the position of Cardinal-Nephew, and, it was said at the time, with whom he shared his bed
I just wonder how anyone would know these things. -
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Permalink Reply by Eric on -
They get a pass on the rape and abuse of children, but throw some consenting adults into it and they get fired. Makes perfect sense.
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Permalink Reply by Jo Jerome on -
They get a pass on the rape and abuse of children, but throw some consenting adults into it and they get fired. Makes perfect sense.
Somewhere a priest is making notes: "Note to self, keep them young." -
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Permalink Reply by Sentient Biped on
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Yeah, but.....
damn, there is no yeah but. You are 100% right. -
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Permalink Reply by Gaga on -
Some details, if you are interested:
Angelo Balducci was the president of the council for public works, the body within the italian government which decides on legislations, tenders, safety certifications, etc.
He is accused (along with other people - they allegedly formed a tight group sharing common interests) of corruption and to have illegaly favoured specific companies on tenders for public works.
The raunchy part to which the article refers, came out among the intercepted phone conversations during the enquiry for corruption. He apparently had a thing for male escorts...
To be fair, though, even if Balducci is close to the vatican, there isn't at the moment any mention of involvement of people from the church, choristers aren't priests or anything. I might be part of the Vatican choir. Well no, I couldn't 'cause I hate the RC and I haven't that good a voice, but I digress...
The more interesting thing, IMHO, is that the "gentlemen of His Holiness" are chosen among (my loose translation):"Persons with outstanding merits with the church".
One has to wonder which kind of merits can a corrupted goverment official have with an organization with huge interests in public works... -
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Permalink Reply by Sentient Biped on
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Not that I really want to be fair, but I will. There are hundreds of millions of Catholics in the world, and what, thousands of priests? And these guys weren't even priests, as you say. If an occasional Catholic is corrupt, it doesn't say anything about the church as a whole, or about the pope, or about the Vatican.
Everybody loves a good scandal, but it wouldn't be fair to claim that this says something about Catholicism.
Sometimes I hate being fair. -
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