Pope Benedict XVI Resigned Partly Because Of Powerful
Vatican Gay Lobby, Italian Paper Claims
.
Meredith Bennett-Smith ("The Huffington Post," February 22, 2013)
Was the pope under the influence of a secretive "gay lobby" within the
Vatican itself?
That's the claim put forth by Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica.
On Thursday, the popular paper published an article alleging that Pope
Benedict XVI's decision to resign this month was partly prompted by a report
that accused Vatican officials of being under the influence of several
internal lobbies, reportedly including a gay one.
The Irish Times reports that Benedict commissioned the report after the
Vatileaks scandal broke last year. The report, written by a trio of
cardinals, concluded that "various lobbies within the Holy See were
consistently
breaking" the sixth and seventh commandments, "thou shalt not commit adultery"
and "thou shalt not steal."
(The sixth commandment referencing adultery has historically been tied to
the Catholic Church's doctrine banning homosexuality.)
The nearly 300-page dossier would be passed on to pope's successor, the
report added.
Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, released an arguably
vague statement about the accusations.
"Neither the cardinals' commission nor I will make comments to confirm or
deny the things that are said about this matter," he said, according to the
Guardian. "Let each one assume his or her own responsibilities. We shall
not be following up on the observations that are made about this."
The Guardian also reported that a separate Italian daily, Corriere della
Sera, mentioned a "disturbing" dossier in an article published soon after
the pope's resignation announcement.
Scandalous revelations involving the Vatican and gay sex have been
published by La Repubblica before. In 2010, the newspaper revealed wiretaps
and
police documents that showed a Vatican chorister and an elite papal usher had
been involved with a gay prostitutes ring. Both men were dismissed from
their duties, the Telegraph notes.
La Repubblica's allegations are only the latest in a string of theories
relating to the pope's sudden departure, which has prompted rampant
speculation.
Benedict himself has further confused matters with his Ash Wednesday
homily, in which he referenced vague internal "divisions."
“I am thinking in particular of the sins against the unity of the church,
of the divisions in the body of the church," Benedict said, according to
the Washington Post.
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