[Prarnenoexpog]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/0..._n_486218.html




The Vatican has been thrown into chaos by reports that one of the Pope's ceremonial ushers, as well as a member of the elite Vatican choir, were involved in a homosexual prostitution ring.
The allegations came to light after Italian newspapers published transcripts of phone calls recorded by police, who had been conducting an unrelated corruption investigation.
The tapes appear to record Angelo Balducci, a Gentleman of His Holiness, negotiating with Thomas Chinedu Ehiem, a 29-year-old Nigerian Vatican chorister, about men he wanted brought to him for sexual purposes. Balducci was allegedly paying 2,000 euros ($2,714) for each man he met, according to the Irish Times.
Balducci is recorded describing precise physical details of the men he wanted. The transcripts record that during 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.
A report by the Italian Carabinieri on the case said: "In order to organize casual encounters of a sexual nature, he availed himself of the intercession of two individuals who, it is maintained, may form part of an organized network, especially active in [Rome], of exploiters or at least facilitators of male prostitution."
The police probe into corruption resulted in Balducci and 4 others being arrested. Allegations of prostitution were only revealed later, and have resulted in Ehiem's dismissal from the Vatican choir.
Balducci held a high position within the Vatican and carried the coffin of Pope John Paul at his 2005 funeral. He has now lost his position as a Gentleman of the Holiness. His trial for corruption is still pending.
The Catholic Church has weathered a storm of controversy in recent years over allegations of sexual abuse by its members. Whilst homosexuality is not outright condemned within the Church, it is taught that homosexual acts are "are intrinsically disordered."

[WeestDype]

Is anyone surprised?

[Goalseexere]

^^^ oh, you silly nutter.

[Heclailia]

Balducci was allegedly paying 2,000 euros ($2,714) for each man he met. Know btw, at those prices these were not guys off the street nor what you might think of as "prostitutes": we are talking mostly about the world of soccor, bodyguards, cops, models from Milan and probably the Vatican's Swiss Guards as well.

2,000 Euro... comes in handy.

[BrandandGeneric]

Bunch of pansy a**holes in dresses, talking smack about homosexuality...advocating against equal rights for gays, then going home at night to munch some trade.
No, we're not surprised. I bet more than half the priesthood is on the DL.

[Arrocousa]

I'd say a good 80%.

[stunnyravytal]

Bunch of pansy a**holes in dresses, talking smack about homosexuality...advocating against equal rights for gays, then going home at night to munch some trade.
No, we're not surprised. I bet more than half the priesthood is on the DL.

That is what happens when your religion not only denotes Homosexuality as evil, and does not allow the priesthood to have a woman in their life.

Double whammie, without any "wham".

These men, who are undoubtedly religious, have no problem saying "no wife", and feel guilty about their true feelings and feel they need to atone for their own sins, so......

Is this all of them? Hell no. But it is an undiniably ironic result of a religions positions.

[kaysions]

The Catholic church does not denote homosexuality as "evil". It's stand on homosexuality is on par with most Christian religions as well as Judaism. Though not as severe as Islam and Hindu.

[Njxatsbf]

On par with other Christian religions? Not necesarily ...

How easy & expedient it must be for those in charge of the Catholic Church -- by its essential & self-professed make-up an organization full of single men without spouses or partners -- to deny health benefits to partners / spouses / husbands / wives of those in their employ:

Today, Catholic Charities President and CEO Edward Orzechowski sent out a memo to staffers informing them of the change to the health care coverage, which will go into effect tomorrow.

In short: If you and your spouse are already enrolled in Catholic Charities health coverage, your spouse will be grandfathered in. Starting tomorrow, however, new employees (or newly married employees, hint hint) will not be allowed to add spouses to the plan. So: Longtime employees will receive the spousal benefits they’ve always had; Catholic Charities will get to keep its pool of covered spouses gay-free; only fresh employees and gays will feel the sting on this one.

Here’s the memo:

I am writing to you to inform you of an important change to our group health care benefit plan that will take effect on March 2, 2010 due to a change in the law of the District of Columbia. It is important to note that the existing health coverage of current employees will not be affected by the change. New employees and current employees requesting revisions in benefit coverage will be affected by this change.

Catholic Charities will continue to honor the health plan coverage that current employees have as of March 1, 2010. As of March 2, a new plan will be in effect that will cover new employees and requests for benefit changes by current employees. The new plan will provide the same level of coverage for employees and their dependents that you now have, with one exception: spouses not in the plan as of March 1, will not be eligible for coverage in the future. If your spouse currently has coverage in our Plan, he/she may continue to be covered by the health benefit plan, even if you later add a dependent or decide to change your option level (e.g., change from low option to high option). Please see the attached formal Plan Amendment.

We sincerely regret that we have to make this change, but it is necessary to allow Catholic Charities to continue to provide essential services to the clients we serve in partnership with the District of Columbia while remaining consistent with the tenets of our religious faith.

A summary of the Plan modification has been mailed to you at your home address. If you have any questions on this matter, please e-mail your Human Resources manager or, if you do not have access to email, call. Please remember, this change does not impact your current coverage in any way.

Thank you for your understanding in this matter, and let me again express my appreciation for your support and patience over these past months as we have worked hard to arrive at a decision that allows us to continue to serve others in a manner that is consistent with our religious beliefs.

[NaMbessemab]

I don't know how this might compare to similar situations with most other religions.

In the meantime: the Catholic Church is against gay marriage and always will be. That is not going to change.

What world religions are fine with it?

[ZESINTERS]

Reform Judaism

[koebforfrn]

The Catholic church does not denote homosexuality as "evil". It's stand on homosexuality is on par with most Christian religions as well as Judaism. Though not as severe as Islam and Hindu.

OK, so what do they consider sex out of wedlock?

Also, how long has the Catholic Church approved of Gay Marriage?

I assume all Gay Catholics just hold hands? That ain't much for 2000 Euros... I think he should get his money back!

[perpelverw]

When I was very young, I wanted a bicycle. Every night I prayed to God that he might grant me one. After months of devout prayer and no bicycle, a revelation came to me. God doesn't operate in this manner.

The next day I stole a bicycle, and that night, prayed to God for forgiveness.

[movlabz]

^ actually that kind of sums things up.

Ninja: I don't understand line 2 and 3 of your post up above but if you want to know more about Catholic attitudes on homosexualty, sex or really anything there are plenty of Catholic sources that you can turn to for info. Know that there are thousands and thousands of Catholics who identify themselves as gay and who live their lives as they please. The Catholic Church is not going to condone homosexuality, or sex out of wedlock, or abortion....ever. Not ever. Basically Catholics live with it and pray to God for forgivness for having stolen the bicycle. It's not about you and what you expect the Church to be. When you are long dead and gone the Church is still going to be there... like Coca Cola.

And: for the record, it should be pointed out that the fellow in question in the article that opens the thread is not a priest. These are lay people, not clergy: cerimonial usher and member of the Vatican choir.

Furthermore the article's claim that "the Vatican has been thrown into chaos" by this episode is ridiculous.

--

[valiumnopresc]

Fab, Isn't evil what you do to get you into hell?

Isn't sex out of wedlock considered a sin?

Doesn't sin get you into hell?

If the church does not permit gay marriage, and gay people DO have sex, they are sinning and will (possibly) go to hell for it. (or so the Church's rules seem to indicate).

So, doesn't that make it, in general terms, evil? Or is it a good thing to go to hell?

The church does not need to say things directly to get people to believe in certain things being good or bad. Sometimes a string of contiguous rules can make an act, a belief, or a people "evil" in the eyes of "God".

[EmpaccalGah]

Yes, I guess you are right about that. Homosexulity is considered a sin and so if sin is evil then...ok... homosexuality is evil.

But of course the Church gets complicated.... sins come in a number of flavours in the Catholic Church. Then you You have Confession, Communion.... forgivness for your sins... and forgivness is a huge factor in the Church.

Personally, I've never heard of homosexual people considered "evil" in the eyes of "God" (as you write above) in the Catholic Church.

Really though, what is your point?

[Jambjanatan]

There has to be a point to a pointless association?

[babopeddy]

The Catholic Church takes it one step further, not approving of the 'gay sensibility', that is, it's not enough to be celibate, one may not also be nelly or a fan of Joan Crawford -

[paydayus]

Oh, absolutely. That's what I love about gay Catholic men.... they're so butch.

[Kilsimpaile]

Where is Father Damien when we need him?

Chief exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth says Devil is in the Vatican

TimesOnLine

Sex abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic Church are proof that that "the Devil is at work inside the Vatican", according to the Holy See's chief exorcist.

Father Gabriele Amorth, 85, who has been the Vatican's chief exorcist for 25 years and says he has dealt with 70,000 cases of demonic possession, said that the consequences of satanic infiltration included power struggles at the Vatican as well as "cardinals who do not believe in Jesus, and bishops who are linked to the Demon".

He added: "When one speaks of 'the smoke of Satan' [a phrase coined by Pope Paul VI in 1972] in the holy rooms, it is all true – including these latest stories of violence and paedophilia."

He claimed that another example of satanic behaviour was the Vatican "cover-up" over the deaths in 1998 of Alois Estermann, the then commander of the Swiss Guard, his wife and Corporal Cedric Tornay, a Swiss Guard, who were all found shot dead. "They covered up everything immediately," he said. "Here one sees the rot" ...

Copyright 2010 Times Newspapers Ltd.