VATICAN CITY (AP) — In private remarks to the learship of a key Lat Amerin church group, Pope Francis lamented that a "gay lobby" was at work at the Vatin. It was an apparent reference to allegatns the Italian media that blackmail was takg place wh the Vatin agast high-rankg prelat who are gay. The Lat Amerin and Caribbean Conferatn of Relig — the regnal anizatn for prits and nuns of relig orrs — nfirmed Tuday that s lears had wrten a synthis of Francis' remarks after their June 6 dience. The group, known by s Spanish acronym CLAR, said was greatly distrsed that the document had been published and apologized to the pope. In the document, Francis is quoted as sayg that while there were many holy people the Vatin, there was also a current of rptn. "The 'gay lobby' is mentned, and is te, is there ... We need to see what we n do ..." the synthis reads. The Vatin spokman, the Rev. Feri Lombardi, said Tuday the dience was private and that as a rult he had nothg to say. In the days leadg up to Pope Benedict XVI's Feb. 28 rignatn, Italian media were rife wh reports of a "gay lobby" fluencg papal cisn-makg and Vatin policy through blackmail, and suggtns that the sndal had led part to Benedict's cisn to rign. The unsourced reports, the Rome daily La Repubbli and the news magaze Panorama, said tails of the sndal were laid out the secret dossier prepared for Benedict by three tsted rdals who vtigated the leaks of papal documents last year. Benedict left the dossier for Francis. At the time, the Vatin nounced the reportg as famatory, "unverified, unverifiable or pletely false." The ial reportg has never been precise on what exactly was meant by a "gay lobby," but Repubbli and Panorama went beyond sayg there was merely a homosexual subculture at the Vatin. Rather, they raised allegatns that high-rankg prelat were beg blackmailed bee they were gay. On Wednday, Italian gay rights groups nounced the reportg of the entire affair as sensive and homophobic. "That prits have sex wh other men don't thorize anyone to speak about a gay lobby, bee we're not talkg about a group that reprents the terts of the homosexual muny but rather a group that is an tegral part of a power stcture — the Vatin — which is vlently homophobic," said Fran Grilli, print of Gay rights group. Francis' remarks on the matter, as reported by the CLAR learship, were published Tuday Spanish on the progrsive Chilean-based webse "Reflectn and Liberatn" and picked up and translated by the blog Rorate Caeli, which is read Vatin circl. In the synthis, Francis was quoted as beg remarkably forthg about his admistrative shortgs, sayg he was relyg on the group of eight rdals he appoted to lead a reform of the Vatin burecracy. The document quoted him as sayg: "I am very disanized, I have never been good at this. But the rdals of the missn will move forward." In s statement, CLAR said no rerdg had been ma of Francis' remarks but that the members of s learship team — a half-dozen men and women — together wrote a synthis of the pots he had ma for their own personal e. "It's clear that based on this one nnot attribute wh certaty to the Holy Father sgular exprsns the text, but jt the general sense," the statement said. ___ Text of the CLAR synthis is at Text of the CLAR apology is at ___ Follow Nile Wfield at
Contents:
- POPE NFIRMS ‘GAY LOBBY’ AT WORK AT VATIN
- EX-POPE BENEDICT DCRIB POWER OF VATIN'S 'GAY LOBBY' NEW MEMOIR
- A 'GAY LOBBY' AT THE VATIN? ONE RDAL SAYS 'S REAL, AND POPE FRANCIS IS RPONDG
- IN MEMOIRS, EX POPE BENEDICT SAYS VATIN 'GAY LOBBY' TRIED TO WIELD POWER: REPORT
- FOUR FIVE VATIN PRITS ARE GAY, BOOK CLAIMS
POPE NFIRMS ‘GAY LOBBY’ AT WORK AT VATIN
* vatican gay lobby *
VATICAN CITY (AP) — In private remarks to the learship of a key Lat Amerin church group, Pope Francis lamented that a “gay lobby” was at work at the was an apparent reference to allegatns the Italian media that blackmail was takg place wh the Vatin agast high-rankg prelat who are Lat Amerin and Caribbean Conferatn of Relig — the regnal anizatn for prits and nuns of relig orrs — nfirmed Tuday that s lears had wrten a synthis of Francis’ remarks after their June 6 dience. “The ‘gay lobby’ is mentned, and is te, is there...
28 rignatn, Italian media were rife wh reports of a “gay lobby” fluencg papal cisn-makg and Vatin policy through blackmail, and suggtns that the sndal had led part to Benedict’s cisn to unsourced reports, the Rome daily La Repubbli and the news magaze Panorama, said tails of the sndal were laid out the secret dossier prepared for Benedict by three tsted rdals who vtigated the leaks of papal documents last year. The ial reportg has never been precise on what exactly was meant by a “gay lobby, ” but Repubbli and Panorama went beyond sayg there was merely a homosexual subculture at the Vatin.
EX-POPE BENEDICT DCRIB POWER OF VATIN'S 'GAY LOBBY' NEW MEMOIR
In a forthg memoir, former Pope Benedict claims a "gay lobby" the Vatin tried to wield fluence over him. * vatican gay lobby *
Rather, they raised allegatns that high-rankg prelat were beg blackmailed bee they were Wednday, Italian gay rights groups nounced the reportg of the entire affair as sensive and homophobic.
A 'GAY LOBBY' AT THE VATIN? ONE RDAL SAYS 'S REAL, AND POPE FRANCIS IS RPONDG
The fluential Cardal Osr Maradiaga has acknowledged the prence of a “gay lobby” the Vatin. In a new terview, he says that Pope Francis has adopted a gradual approach to addrs – and that Catholic teachg won’t change. * vatican gay lobby *
“That prits have sex wh other men don’t thorize anyone to speak about a gay lobby, bee we’re not talkg about a group that reprents the terts of the homosexual muny but rather a group that is an tegral part of a power stcture — the Vatin — which is vlently homophobic, ” said Fran Grilli, print of Gay rights group.
In a forthg memoir, former Pope Benedict reportedly claims a “gay lobby” the Vatin tried to wield fluence over him. In the book, lled “The Last Conversatns” and set to be published September, Benedict says four or five people ma up a “gay lobby” who sought power over Vatin cisns. Durg his tenure, Benedict nounced gay marriage, llg a “manipulatn of nature.
IN MEMOIRS, EX POPE BENEDICT SAYS VATIN 'GAY LOBBY' TRIED TO WIELD POWER: REPORT
He cried “unjt discrimatn” agast gays and lbians and has said, “By thkg that everythg is black and whe, we sometim close off the way of grace and growth. The fluential Cardal Osr Maradiaga has acknowledged the prence of a "gay lobby" the Vatin. The Honduran newspaper El Heraldo asked the rdal whether there actually was an attempted or succsful "filtratn of the gay muny the Vatin.
A prev report about the Pope workg to unter the "gay lobby" was wily read, but s accuracy was uncerta. In June 2013 the left-leang Chilean Catholic webse "Reflexión y liberación" claimed that Pope Francis had told a meetg of the Lat Amerin Conferatn of Men and Women Relig that there is a "gay lobby" the Church and "we have to see what we n do (about ). "So much is wrten about the gay lobby.
I have yet to fd anyone who n give me a Vatin inty rd wh 'gay' [wrten on ].
FOUR FIVE VATIN PRITS ARE GAY, BOOK CLAIMS
" Cg the Catechism's teachg agast margalizg homosexual persons, he said, "If a person is gay and seeks the Lord and has good will, well who am I to judge them? The rdal's remarks on a "gay lobby" follow years of creasgly proment agatn for doctral change om non-Catholics and some Catholics.
VATICAN CITY (Rters) - Former Pope Benedict says his memoirs that no-one prsured him to rign but alleg that a “gay lobby” the Vatin had tried to fluence cisns, a leadg Italian newspaper reported on Friday.
He promised to rema “hidn to the world” and has been livg a former nvent the Vatin ’s Corriere lla Sera daily, which has acquired the Italian newspaper rights for excerpts and has accs to the book, ran a long article on Friday summarizg s key the book, Benedict says that he me to know of the prence of a “gay lobby” ma up of four or five people who were seekg to fluence Vatin cisns. Italian media at the time reported that a factn of prelat who wanted to discred Benedict and prsure him to rign was behd the ’S DIARYThe Church has mataed s centuri-long opposn to homosexual rights mpaigners have long said many gay people work for the Vatin and Church sourc have said they spect that some have band together to support each other’s reers and fluence cisns the burecracy. Some of the most senr clerics the Roman Catholic church who have vociferoly attacked homosexualy are themselv gay, acrdg to a book to be published next per cent of prits workg at the Vatin are gay, although not necsarily sexually active, is claimed the book, In the Closet of the 570-page book, which the French journalist and thor Frédéric Martel spent four years rearchg, is a “startlg acunt of rptn and hypocrisy at the heart of the Vatin”, acrdg to s Brish publisher is beg published eight languag across 20 untri next Wednday, cidg wh the openg day of a nference at the Vatin on sexual abe, to which bishops om all over the world have been, a former adviser to the French ernment, nducted 1, 500 terviews while rearchg the book, cludg wh 41 rdals, 52 bishops and monsignors, 45 papal ambassadors or diplomatic officials, 11 Swiss guards and more than 200 prits and semarians, acrdg to a report on the Catholic webse the spoke of an unspoken of the “closet”, wh one le of thumb beg that the more homophobic a cleric was, the more likely he was to be alleg that one Colombian rdal, the late Alfonso López Tjillo, who held a senr Vatin posn, was an arch-fenr of church teachg on homosexualy and ntraceptn while g male prostut, the Tablet thor found that some gay prits accepted their sexualy and a few mataed discreet relatnships, but others sought high-risk sual enunters.