The Secret Liv of the Vatin’s Gay Cardals, Monks, and Other Clergy Members | Vany Fair

Contents:

• THE SWISS GUARDS' GAY MAFIA
• SWISS GUARD VETERAN CLAIMS EXISTENCE OF 'GAY WORK' AT THE VATIN
• VATIN PRELATE 'GAY ROMANCE' WH SWISS GUARD
• THE VATIN’S SWISS GUARDS BREAK UP A DG-FUELED GAY ORGY POPE FRANCIS’ BACKYARD
• VATIN RIDDLED WH GAYS: EX-SWISS GUARD
• THE VATIN’S SECRET LIFEDPE HEADL ABOUT A POWERFUL “GAY LOBBY” WH THE VATIN, AND A NEW POPE PROMISG REFORM, THE CATHOLIC CHURCH’S GAY RDALS, MONKS, AND OTHER CLERGY HAB A HIDN HERWORLD. IN ROME, THE THOR LEARNS HOW THEY NAVIGATE THE DANGERO PARADOX OF THEIR LIV.BY MICHAEL JOSEPH GROSSNOVEMBER 15, 2013SAVE THIS STORYSAVESAVE THIS STORYSAVENAKED BUT FOR THE TOWEL AROUND HIS WAIST, A MAN OF A CERTA AGE SAT BY HIMSELF, BENT SLIGHTLY FORWARD AS IF PRAYG, A RNER OF THE SNA AT A GYM CENTRAL ROME. I HAD NOT MET THIS MAN BEFORE, BUT AS I ENTERED THE SNA, I THOUGHT I REGNIZED HIM OM PHOTOGRAPHS. HE LOOKED LIKE A PRIT WH WHOM I’D RRPOND AFTER MUTUAL IENDS PUT TOUCH, A MAN I HAD WANTED TO NSULT ABOUT GAY CLERICS THE VATIN CURIA. MY IENDS TOLD ME THAT THIS PRIT WAS GAY, POLILLY SAVVY, AND WELL NNECTED TO THE GAY CHURCH HIERARCHY ROME.BUT THIS ULDN’T BE THAT PRIT. HE HAD TOLD ME THAT HE’D BE AWAY AND ULDN’T MEET. YET AS I LOOKED AT THE MAN MORE CLOSELY, I SAW THAT WAS FELY HIM. WHEN WE WERE ALONE, I SPOKE HIS NAME, TELLG HIM ME. “I THOUGHT YOU WERE OUT OF THE UNTRY,” I SAID. “HOW LUCKY FOR ME: YOU’RE HERE!” STARTLED, THE PRIT TALKED FAST. Y, HIS PLANS HAD CHANGED, HE SAID, BUT HE WAS LEAVG AGA THE NEXT DAY AND WOULD RETURN ONLY AFTER I WAS GONE.DURG THE PREV FEW DAYS, I HAD HEARD A LOT ABOUT THIS MAN. I HAD HEARD THAT HE IS A GOSSIP, A SOCIAL OPERATOR WHOSE LENDAR IS A BLUR OF DRKS AND DNERS WH RDALS AND ARCHBISHOPS, PRCIPSAS AND PERSONAL TRAERS. SUPPOSEDLY, HE LOV TO DISH MALE LLEAGU WH MPY FEMALE NICKNAM. BUT I WOULD NEVER HAVE THE EXPERIENCE FIRSTHAND. THE PRIT WAS EMBARRASSED: TO HAVE BEEN CHANCED UPON AT THIS PLACE; TO HAVE HAD HIS SMALL EVASNS REVEALED. THE ENUNTER WAS AWKWARD. NO, HE DID NOT WISH TO DISCS THE SUBJECT I WAS TERTED . NO, HE DID NOT THK THE SUBJECT WORTHWHILE. THE THGS HE MA CLEAR. WE LEFT THE SNA AND, AFTER FURTHER NVERSATN, CIVIL BUT STILTED, WENT OUR SEPARATE WAYS.I ULD UNRSTAND HIS DISFORT. BUT ROME THE DAYS THE TOPIC OF GAY PRITS THE UPPER REACH OF THE HOLY SEE IS HARD TO AVOID. IN FEBARY OF THIS YEAR, NOT LONG BEFORE THE COLLEGE OF CARDALS GATHERED THE SISTE CHAPEL FOR THE NCLAVE TO CHOOSE THE 266TH POPE, THE LARGT ITALIAN DAILY NEWSPAPER, LA REPUBBLI, REPORTED THAT A “GAY LOBBY”—A MORE OR LS UNIFIED BAL OF HOMOSEXUAL POWER BROKERS—MIGHT BE OPERATG SI THE VATIN. ACRDG TO THE NEWSPAPER, THE POSSIBLE EXISTENCE OF THIS GAY LOBBY WAS AMONG THE MANY SECRETS SCRIBED A TWO-VOLUME, 300-PAGE REPORT BOUND RED AND PRENTED TO POPE BENEDICT XVI BY THREE RDALS HE HAD APPOTED TO VTIGATE THE AFFAIR KNOWN AS “VATILEAKS.” THAT SNDAL, WHICH RAISED H SPICNS OF ENMIC RPTN WH THE CURIA, HAD BROKEN THE PREV YEAR AFTER PAOLO GABRIELE, THE PAPAL BUTLER, MA OFF WH SOME OF BENEDICT’S PRIVATE PAPERS AND LEAKED THEM TO THE PRS.THE TERNAL VATILEAKS REPORT, ACRDG TO LA REPUBBLI, DITED THAT GAY CLERICS THE VATIN WERE BEG BLACKMAILED. THE REPORT WAS ALSO SAID TO DOCUMENT THE ALLEGED GAY LOBBY’S SOCIAL STCTURE AND CTOMS. YET TAILS NCERNG GAY PRITS’ GATHERGS ADD UP TO OLD NEWS: THE TAL HAD BEEN TOLD ARTICL PREVLY PUBLISHED BY LA REPUBBLI SELF. SENSATNALLY, THE NEWSPAPER SUGGTED THAT BENEDICT’S NCERN ABOUT THE ALLEGED GAY LOBBY WAS ONE REASON HE HAD SUDNLY RIGNED THE PAPACY.MONTHS LATER, ANOTHER LEAK OF NFINTIAL RMATN BROUGHT THE SUBJECT OF A GAY LOBBY BACK TO THE NEWS. SOMEONE TOOK NOT DURG WHAT WAS MEANT TO BE A PRIVATE MEETG BETWEEN LAT-AMERIN CHURCH LEARS AND THE NEW POPE, THE FORMER RDAL JE BERGOGL, ARCHBISHOP OF BUENOS AIR, NOW KNOWN AS FRANCIS. IN JUNE, THOSE NOT WERE PUBLISHED ON A PROGRSIVE CATHOLIC WEB SE. FRANCIS WAS QUOTED AS SAYG, “THE ‘GAY LOBBY’ IS MENTNED, AND IS TE, IS THERE … WE NEED TO SEE WHAT WE N DO.”A CLOSET WH NO DOORGAY LOBBY? IT PENDS ON WHAT YOU MEAN. THE TERM ULD REFER TO A SHADOWY GROUP LIKE THE ILLUMATI, WHOSE MEMBERS QUIETLY EXERCISE SUPREME POWER. THIS IS THE SORT OF IA THAT LIGHTS UP THE TIL HATS OF NSPIRACY THEORISTS, AND DON’T PTURE THE SLOW, FDAL, EFFICIENT WORKGS OF THE VATIN. “GAY LOBBY” IS REALLY SHORTHAND FOR SOMETHG ELSE. AT THE VATIN, A SIGNIFINT NUMBER OF GAY PRELAT AND OTHER GAY CLERICS ARE POSNS OF GREAT THORY. THEY MAY NOT ACT AS A LLECTIVE BUT ARE AWARE OF ONE ANOTHER’S EXISTENCE. AND THEY HAB A SECRETIVE HERWORLD, BEE HOMOSEXUALY IS OFFICIALLY NMNED. THOUGH THE NUMBER OF GAY PRITS GENERAL, AND SPECIFILLY AMONG THE CURIA ROME, IS UNKNOWN, THE PROPORTN IS MUCH HIGHER THAN THE GENERAL POPULATN. BETWEEN 20 AND 60 PERCENT OF ALL CATHOLIC PRITS ARE GAY, ACRDG TO ONE TIMATE CED BY DONALD B. COZZENS HIS WELL-REGARD THE CHANGG FACE OF THE PRITHOOD. FOR GAY CLERICS AT THE VATIN, ONE FUNDAMENTAL NDN OF THEIR POWER, AND OF THEIR PRITHOOD, IS SILENCE, AT LEAST PUBLIC, ABOUT WHO THEY REALLY ARE.CLERICS HAB THIS SILENCE A VARIETY OF WAYS. A FEW KEEP THEIR SEXUALY ENTIRELY PRIVATE AND ADHERE TO THE VOW OF CELIBACY. MANY OTHERS QUIETLY LET THEMSELV BE KNOWN AS GAY TO A LIMED GREE, TO SOME LLEAGU, OR TO SOME LAYPEOPLE, OR BOTH; SOMETIM THEY REMA CELIBATE AND SOMETIM THEY DO NOT. A THIRD WAY, PERHAPS THE LEAST MON BUT CERTALY THE MOST VISIBLE, VOLV LIVG A DOUBLE LIFE. OCSNALLY SUCH CLERICS ARE UNMASKED, UALLY BY STORI THE ITALIAN PRS. IN 2010, FOR THE BETTER PART OF A MONTH, ONE STRAIGHT JOURNALIST PRETEND TO BE THE BOYIEND OF A GAY MAN WHO ACTED AS A “HONEYPOT” AND ENTRAPPED ACTUAL GAY PRITS VAR SEXUAL SUATNS. (THE RDAL VIR OF ROME WAS GIVEN THE TASK OF VTIGATG. THE PRITS’ FAT ARE UNKNOWN.)THERE ARE AT LEAST A FEW GAY RDALS, CLUDG ONE WHOSE LONG-TERM PARTNER IS A WELL-KNOWN MISTER A PROTTANT NOMATN. THERE IS THE NOTOR MONSIGNOR NICKNAMED “JSI,” WHO LIK TO VIS A PONTIFIL UNIVERSY AND PASS OUT HIS BS RD TO 25-YEAR-OLD NOVIC. (AMONG THE MONSIGNOR’S PICKUP L: “DO YOU WANT TO SEE THE BED OF JOHN XXIII?”) THERE’S THE SUPPOSEDLY STRAIGHT MAN WHO HAS A SECRET LIFE AS A GAY PROSTUTE ROME AND POSTS PHOTOGRAPHS ONLE OF THE NERMOST RRIDORS OF THE VATIN. WHETHER HE RECEIVED THIS PRIVILEGED ACCS OM SOME IEND OR FAY MEMBER, OR OM A CLIENT, IS IMPOSSIBLE TO SAY; TO SEE A KNOWN RENT BOY BLACK LEATHER ON A PRIVATE VATIN BALNY DO RAISE AN EYEBROW.THE VATIN HOLDS SECRETS SO TIGHTLY THAT N MAKE FORT MEA LOOK LIKE A SLOPPY DNK. YET DOZENS OF TERVIEWS WH CURRENT AND FORMER GAY PRITS, GAY MONKS, VETERAN VATIN JOURNALISTS, ITALIAN ARISTOCRATS, AND GAY MEN AT ROMAN GYMS, BARS, NIGHTCLUBS, SEX CLUBS, AND RTRANTS SUGGT THAT, RIVETG AS THE MORE GRAPHIC STORI ARE, THEY NVEY A LIMED PART OF THE REALY OF GAY CLERIL LIFE ROME. TO BE GAY THE VATIN IS NO GUARANTEE OF SUCCS, MARK OF BELONGG, OR SHORTCUT TO EROTIC TRIGUE. MOST BASILLY IS A SENTENCE OF ISOLATN. GAYS THE VATIN ARE CREATUR OF A CUTTHROAT BURECRACY WHOSE DOGMATIC WORLDVIEW NI OR NIGRAT THEIR OWN EXISTENCE. THEY LIVE A CLOSET THAT HAS NO DOOR. AMONG RECENT POP, BENEDICT MA THE MOST NCERTED EFFORT TO SHARPEN CHURCH DOCTRE ON HOMOSEXUALY, WHICH HE ONCE LLED “A MORE OR LS STRONG TENNCY ORRED TOWARD AN TRSIC MORAL EVIL.” HE TRIED TO CULL GAYS OM CLERIL RANKS, MOST NOTABLY 2005, WHEN MEN WH KNOWN “EP-SEATED HOMOSEXUAL TENNCI” WERE PROHIBED OM BEG ORDAED, EVEN IF THEY WERE CELIBATE.DENUNCIATN AND EXPOSURE HAVE MA GAY PRITS FIGUR OF FASCATN—THOUGH LS AS PEOPLE THAN AS SYMBOLS—PECIALLY TO THE SECULAR FAR LEFT AND THE RELIG FAR RIGHT. BOTH SIS FD THE CLERICS TO BE POLILLY EFUL. THE LEFT THEM TO LEVEL CHARG OF HYPOCRISY. THE RIGHT SE THEM AS A STA NEED OF REMOVAL. THEY ALL GOT A SHOCK LATE LAST JULY WHEN FRANCIS MA HIS FIRST DIRECT PUBLIC STATEMENT ABOUT GAY CLERICS SCE BEG POPE.DURG AN IMPROMPTU PRS NFERENCE ABOARD THE PAPAL JET, EN ROUTE OM R JANEIRO TO ROME AFTER HIS FIRST OVERSEAS TRIP, FRANCIS WAS ASKED ABOUT THE SO-LLED GAY LOBBY. HIS RPONSE, LIVERED WH SUAL HUMOR AND PUNCTUATED BY SHGS AND S, WAS AS FOLLOWS: “SO MUCH HAS BEEN WRTEN ABOUT THE GAY LOBBY. I STILL HAVEN’T N TO ANYONE THE VATIN WHO HAS SHOWN ME AN INTY RD WH ‘GAY’ ON .” HE PANTOMIMED HOLDG UP SUCH A RD HIS LEFT HAND AND THEN WENT ON: “WHEN YOU FD YOURSELF WH A PERSON LIKE THAT, YOU HAVE TO DISTGUISH BETWEEN THE FACT OF A PERSON BEG GAY AND THE FACT OF SOMEBODY FORMG A LOBBY. . . . IF A PERSON IS GAY AND IS SEARCHG FOR THE LORD AND HAS GOODWILL, WHO AM I TO JUDGE HIM?”MOST POPULARTMP PLANS TO DEFEND HIMSELF AGAST ELECTN CHARG BY THROWG HIS LAWYERS UNR THE B: REPORTBY BS LEVEVERYTHG TO KNOW ABOUT ARIANA GRAN AND HER NEW BOYIEND, SPONGEBOB (ETHAN SLATER)BY KENZIE BRYANTVANY FAIR’S “IT’S RAG TEENS” COVER AT 20: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?BY SAVANNAH WALSHHE SPOKE THE WORDS WH A PALPABLE WARMTH, UNLIKE THE EMBATTLED, WARY TONE THAT OTHER POP HAVE ADOPTED. THIS MAY WELL HAVE BEEN THE FIRST TIME HISTORY THAT A POPE HAS PUBLICLY UTTERED THE TERM “GAY”—THE WORD THAT MOST MEN WHO FEEL ROMANTIC LOVE FOR OTHER MEN E TO SCRIBE THEMSELV—STEAD OF THE PATHOLOGIZG 19TH-CENTURY MEDIL TERM “HOMOSEXUAL.” THEN, A LENGTHY TERVIEW WH A JU JOURNAL, THE POPE WENT FURTHER, STATG THAT THE CHURCH’S MISTRY SHOULD NOT BE “OBSSED” WH A FEW DIVISIVE MORAL ISSU SUCH AS ABORTN AND GAY MARRIAGE. “WHEN GOD LOOKS AT A GAY PERSON, DO HE ENDORSE THE EXISTENCE OF THIS PERSON WH LOVE, OR REJECT AND NMN THIS PERSON?” THE POPE ASKED RHETORILLY. “WE MT ALWAYS NSIR THE PERSON.”EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELFTAL OF GAYS THE VATIN HAVE BEEN TOLD FOR MORE THAN A THOAND YEARS. POPE JOHN XII, WHO REIGNED OM 955 TO 964, WAS ACCED OF HAVG SEX WH MEN AND BOYS AND TURNG THE PAPAL PALACE “TO A WHOREHOE.” WHILE TRYG TO PERSUA A BBLER’S APPRENTICE TO HAVE SEX WH HIM, POPE BONIFACE VIII, WHO REIGNED OM 1294 TO 1303, WAS SAID TO HAVE ASSURED THE BOY THAT TWO MEN HAVG SEX WAS “NO MORE A S THAN BBG YOUR HANDS TOGETHER.” AFTER PL II, WHO REIGNED OM 1464 TO 1471, DIED OF A HEART ATTACK—WHILE FLAGRANTE LICTO WH A PAGE, ACRDG TO ONE MOR—HE WAS SUCCEED BY SIXT IV, WHO KEPT A NEPHEW AS HIS LOVER (AND MA THE NEPHEW A RDAL AT AGE 17). SOME SUCH STORI ARE BETTER SUBSTANTIATED THAN OTHERS. EVEN WHILE THEIR RELIABILY IS QUTNABLE, THEY MONSTRATE THAT PLAYG THE GAY RD (EVEN IF YOU YOURSELF ARE GAY) IS AN ANCIENT CURIAL TACTIC. “THERE ARE CLOSETED GAY PRITS WHO ARE VIPERS,” OBSERV THE THEOLOGIAN MARK D. JORDAN, THE THOR OF THE SILENCE OF SODOM: HOMOSEXUALY MORN CATHOLICISM. “THEY ARE REALLY POISONO PEOPLE, AND THEY WORK OUT THEIR OWN NER MONOLOGY BY GETTG TO POSNS POWER AND EXERCISG ” AGAST OTHER GAY MEN, WOMEN, AND ANYONE WHOM THEY PERCEIVE TO BE A THREAT. “ALONGSI THAT ARE SUFFERG PRITS WHO SEEM SCERE ALL THE WAY DOWN, WHO ARE TRYG TO BE FAHFUL TO GOD, AND ALSO TO TAKE RE OF PEOPLE AND CHANGE THE STUTN. THEY ARE THE ON WHO ARE ALWAYS FOTTEN, AND READ OUT OF THE STORY OM BOTH SIS.”THE CATHOLIC PRITHOOD’S NTEMPORARY GAY CULTURAL MEMORY BEGS THE MIDDLE OF THE LAST CENTURY. WHEN PL VI ASSUMED THE THRONE, 1963, BY ONE ACUNT HE TOOK HIS PAPAL NAME NOT OM ANY PRECSOR BUT OM A FORMER LOVER, A FILM ACTOR. THAT AT LEAST WAS THE NTENTN OF THE PROVOTIVE GAY FRENCH WRER ROGER PEYREFTE, WHOSE 1976 ALLEGATNS ABOUT PL VI ED SUCH A STIR THAT PL TOOK TO THE BALNY OF ST. PETER’S TO NOUNCE THE “HORRIBLE AND SLANRO” ACCATNS. PL LOOKED A LGHGSTOCK, AND THE CURIA LEARNED A LSON: BETTER TO IGNORE SUCH CHARG THAN TO AMPLIFY THEM BY NIAL.MEANWHILE, SOME GAY CLERICS WERE OUTGROWG THE “PARTICULAR IENDSHIPS” THAT HAD LONG BEEN PART OF MONASTIC LIFE AND JOG THE SEXUAL REVOLUTN. BY THE 1970S, THE CENTER OF GAY LIFE ROME WAS A CISG AREA LLED MONTE CAPRO, ON THE CAPOLE HILL. AT A SMALL PARTY OF GAY MONKS AND THEIR IENDS ROME LAST SUMMER, NVERSATN TURNED TO RELLECTNS OF THAT PLACE. “IT WAS LIKE S OWN LTLE CY,” ONE MONK REMEMBERED, “WH HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE—EVERYONE OM SEMARIANS TO BISHOPS—AND THEN THERE WERE, NVENIENTLY, BH OFF TO THE SI.” THE FELLOW FEELG AT MONTE CAPRO WAS PROMISED BY THE AIR OF SECRECY AROUND THE PLACE. THE AREA WAS A TARGET FOR MUGGERS AND THIEV, WHO FIGURED RIGHTLY THAT CLERICS WOULD MAKE IAL VICTIMS BEE THEY HAD MUCH TO LOSE BY THE PUBLIC ACT OF PRSG CHARG. ONE GAY FORMER SEMARIAN RELLED A NIGHT WHEN THREE MEN BEAT HIM UP AND STOLE HIS WALLET WHILE NUMERO MEN THE CROWD PARK STOOD BY. LEFT BLOODIED BY THE THIEV, THE SEMARIAN HOLLERED AT THE BYSTANRS, “THERE’S THREE OF THEM AND 300 OF !”HE TOLD ME THIS STORY, WH S ECHO OF THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARAN— WHICH A TRAVELER IS ROBBED, BEATEN, AND LEFT BY THE SI OF THE ROAD, AND P MEN DO NOTHG TO HELP HIM—TO ILLTRATE THE EVERY-MAN-FOR-HIMSELF DYNAMIC OF ROME’S GAY CLERIL CULTURE. GAY CLERICS OFTEN FAIL TO HELP ONE ANOTHER, HE SAYS, FOR THE SAME REASON THAT NO ONE TRIED TO HELP HIM THE NIGHT THAT HE WAS ROBBED: SOLIDARY ENTAILS THE RISK OF BEG OUTED.“LA MALETTA”SELF-CENTEREDNS N BREED A SENSE OF ENTLEMENT. “A CERTA PART OF THE CLERGY FEELS THAT NO ONE WILL RE WHAT THEY DO IF THEY ARE DISCREET,” SAYS MAR POLI, A PROMENT ITALIAN JOURNALIST AND LONGTIME VATIN RRPONNT, AND THE THOR OF SEVERAL BOOKS ABOUT THE PAPACY AND THE CHURCH. IN 2000, POLI PUBLISHED A BOOK-LENGTH TERVIEW WH AN ANONYMO GAY PRIT, ENTLED LA CONFSNE, REPUBLISHED 2006 AS IO, PRETE GAY (I, GAY PRIT). “RUMORS ARE O.K., BUT NOT SNDAL,” POLI OBSERV.THERE HAS BEEN PLENTY OF SNDAL, THOUGH. IN 2007, MONSIGNOR TOMMASO STENI MET A YOUNG MAN AN ONLE CHAT ROOM AND VED HIM TO HIS VATIN OFFICE, WHERE THEIR NVERSATN— WHICH STENI NIED THAT GAY SEX WAS A S, TOUCHED THE MAN’S LEG, AND SAID, “YOU’RE SO HOT”—WAS SECRETLY VIOTAPED AND THEN BROADST ON ITALIAN TELEVISN. (STENI TRIED TO PERSUA ITALIAN NEWSPAPERS THAT HE’D JT BEEN PLAYG ALONG ORR “TO STUDY HOW PRITS ARE ENSNARED” TO GAY SEX AS PART OF “A DIABOLIL PLAN BY GROUPS OF SATANISTS.” HE WAS SPEND OM HIS VATIN POSN.) IN 2006 A PRIT THE VATIN’S SECRETARIAT OF STATE JURED POLICE OFFICERS AND SMASHED TO POLICE RS DURG A HIGH-SPEED CHASE THROUGH A DISTRICT ROME KNOWN FOR TRANSSEXUALS AND PROSTUT. (THE PRIT WAS ACQUTED ON ALL CHARG AFTER CLAIMG THAT HE FLED BEE HE FEARED HE WAS BEG KIDNAPPED.) IN A 2010 VTIGATN OF NTRACT FIXG FOR NSTCTN PROJECTS, ITALIAN POLICE WIRETAPS HAPPENED TO TCH A PAPAL HER AND GENTLEMAN OF HIS HOLS, ANGELO BALDUCCI, ALLEGEDLY HIRG MALE PROSTUT, SOME OF WHOM MAY HAVE BEEN SEMARIANS, THROUGH A NIGERIAN MEMBER OF A VATIN CHOIR. (THE CHOIR MEMBER WAS DISMISSED; BALDUCCI WAS NVICTED ON RPTN CHARG.)POPE BENEDICT WAS MORED TO HAVE ORRED THAT PRELAT WHO WERE LIVG DOUBLE LIV BE RETIRED OR REMOVED OM ROME. MAR POLI SPECULAT THAT PERHAPS AS MANY AS 30 WERE EASED OUT. THE MOST SENR PRELATE TO LOSE HIS JOB WAS CARDAL KEH O’BRIEN, THE ARCHBISHOP OF ST. ANDREWS AND EDBURGH. A STNCH OPPONENT OF GAY MARRIAGE WHO HAD PUBLICLY LLED HOMOSEXUALY A “MORAL GRADATN,” O’BRIEN WAS BROUGHT DOWN FEBARY BY THREE PRITS AND ONE EX-PRIT WHO ACCED HIM OF “APPROPRIATE NTACT” AND PREDATORY BEHAVR WHEN HE WAS THEIR BISHOP. THE EPISOS REUNTED BY THE FOUR MEN VOLVED SUCH NSISTENT PATTERNS OVER MORE THAN 30 YEARS THAT SOME OF O’BRIEN’S LLEAGU SURELY MT HAVE HAD THEIR SPICNS. WHEN I ASKED ONE ARCHBISHOP IF HE HAD KNOWN THAT O’BRIEN WAS GAY, HOWEVER, THE ARCHBISHOP SAID HE HAD NOT. WHEN I ASKED THE ARCHBISHOP WHO AMONG THE OTHER RDALS WERE O’BRIEN’S CLOST IENDS, HE LDLY ANSWERED, “I DON’T THK HE HAD ANY.” EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF, ED.EVEN BENEDICT HAS BEEN DOGGED BY MORS THAT HE IS GAY. THOUGH NO SOLID EVINCE HAS EVER EMERGED, IS TREATED AS MON KNOWLEDGE BY MANY ROME, WHO CE STEREOTYP GALORE, CLUDG HIS FSY FASHN SENSE (HIS BY-RED SLIPPERS, HIS “VALENTO RED” P); HIS CSA TO NAIL DOWN WHY “HOMOSEXUAL ACTNS” ARE “TRSILLY DISORRED” (MANY CLOSETED GAY MEN, OM ROY COHN TO CARDAL O’BRIEN, HAVE MA THE MOST EXTRAORDARY EFFORTS TO NMN HOMOSEXUALY); AND HIS BROMANCE WH ARCHBISHOP GE GäNSWE, HIS LONGTIME PERSONAL SECRETARY. (NICKNAMED BEL GRG, OR “GEO GEE,” THE GGED GäNSWE SKIS, PLAYS TENNIS, AND PILOTS AIRPLAN. HE SPIRED DONATELLA VERSACE’S WTER 2007 “CLERGYMAN LLECTN.”) PERHAPS THE MOST VIC OF BENEDICT’S NICKNAM IS “LA MALETTA.” THE WORD MEANS “CURSED” ITALIAN, BUT THE PUN RIV OM THE FACT THAT THE TERM MEANS THE EXACT OPPOSE OF BENEDICT’S OWN NAME ITALIAN, BENETTO, WHICH MEANS “BLSED”—WH A GENR CHANGE ACHIEVED THE PROCS.NEHER BENEDICT NOR GäNSWE HAS PUBLICLY RPOND TO ANY OF THIS. THE CHATTER’S MA NSEQUENCE HAS BEEN NOT TO HURT THEM PERSONALLY (THOUGH SURELY MT, AT LEAST A LTLE) BUT TO HELP LOCK DOWN GENUE NVERSATN ABOUT THE EVERYDAY LIV OF GAY PRITS, WHETHER CELIBATE OR NOT. IT IS MORE OR LS IMPOSSIBLE FOR GAY CLERICS TO ARTICULATE THEIR AFFECTNS ANY WAY THAT DO NOT AMOUNT TO WHAT AN ANGLO-SAXON MD MIGHT SEE AS HYPOCRISY. YET SUCH A DUALISTIC EXISTENCE IS VERY MUCH A PART OF CHURCH TRADN. “THIS IS ALMOST AN ASPECT OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGN SELF,” COLM TóIBíN HAS WRTEN AN SAY ON GAYS AND CATHOLICISM, “THIS BS OF KNOWG AND NOT KNOWG SOMETHG ALL AT THE SAME TIME, KEEPG AN ILLN SEPARATE OM THE TTH.” IT IS ALSO TYPIL OF ITALIAN SEXUALY GENERAL, AND ITALIAN HOMOSEXUALY PARTICULAR. THIS IS THE UNTRY THAT TOLERATED THE SEXUAL PAS AND SERIAL DS OF FORMER PRIME MISTER SILV BERLNI WH SRCELY A HT OF PROTT OM THE HIERARCHY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. THIS IS THE UNTRY WHERE UNTLS MARRIED WOMEN IGNORE THEIR HBANDS’ DALLIANC WH MEN.LA BELLA FIGURATHE CULTURE OF CEPTN OPERAT ACRDG TO SIGNALS AND NVENTNS BY WHICH GAY CLERICS NAVIGATE THEIR LIV. CAMP IS PERHAPS THE MOST POWERFUL AND PERVASIVE OF THE S, THOUGH N BE DIFFICULT TO FE. IRONIC, EFFEMATE SELF-MOCKERY—ALLOWG PRITS TO EXERCISE SOME LIMED REBELLN AGAST THEIR OWN ISOLATN AND VISIBILY—IS ONE FORM OF CLERIL MP. FOR FEAR OF LGHG OUT LOUD, PRITS SOMETIM TRY TO AVOID MAKG EYE NTACT WH ONE ANOTHER CHURCH WHEN HYMNS WH TL LIKE “HAIL, HOLY QUEEN” ARE SUNG. AFTER BERGOGL BEME POPE FRANCIS, YOUTUBE CLIPS OF A SEQUENCE OM FELLI’S ROMA WENT VIRAL AMONG GAY PRITS ROME. IT SHOWS A PLA-LOOKG RDAL WATCHG A NWAY SHOW OF OVER-THE-TOP CLERIL ATTIRE—WHICH ENDS WHEN THE PARTED POPE STEALS THE SHOW BY APPEARG THE GLOR GARB OF A SUN GOD.ONE GAY FORMER PRIT, WHO STILL LIV ROME, SCRIB CLERIL MP AS “A NATURAL WAY OF EXPRSG [GAY INTY] WHILE CELIBATE.” SOCIALLY, HE SAYS, IS “A KEY THAT UNLOCKS A FURTHER ELEMENT OF TST.” THERE’S NOTHG EARTH-SHATTERG ABOUT THIS—’S WHAT EVERY STUTN DO—BUT “THE CHURCH HAS A LOT MORE EXPERIENCE AND PRACTICE AT PROTECTG SELF. AS FAR AS THAT GO,” HE SAYS, WH A NOD TO COLE PORTER, “THEY’RE THE TOPS.”WHEN THIS FORMER PRIT BEGAN HIS TN ROME, A PROFSOR TOLD HIM, “THERE SHOULDN’T BE A SUBCULTURE. WE ARE ALL MALE HERE, SO ’S APPROPRIATE TO SAY ‘HER’ OR TO REFER TO OTHER MEN WH FEME PRONOUNS.” THE FORMER PRIT SAYS THAT “NONE OF THIS STCTN WAS ABOUT OUR BEHAVR. IT WAS ABOUT HOW WE SHOULD APPEAR.” HE BELIEV THAT SUCH STCTN ILLTRAT A LTLE-NOTED CHANGE OFFICIAL THKG ABOUT CATHOLIC INTY, AND WHAT SHOULD BE AT S CENTER. “THE SYMBOLS OF THE CHURCH SHOULD BE THE SACRAMENTS,” SUCH AS THE EUCHARIST, HE ARGU, BUT OVER TIME THE PEOPLE WHO ADMISTER THE SACRAMENTS HAVE E TO DISPLACE THEM PROMENCE. IN OTHER WORDS, “THE PRITS BEE THE SYMBOLS” THAT ARE EMED MOST IMPORTANT. WHICH TURN PUTS A PREMIUM ON OUTWARD APPEARANCE AND ENFORC NFORMY TO A CERTA OFFICIAL IAL. THE CHURCH, THEREFORE, IS CREASGLY PREOCCUPIED WH MAKG SURE S LEARS ARE GROOMED OM AMONG “BOYS WHO LOOK HOLY: PLAYG DRS-UP AT THE AMERIN COLLEGE AND GOG DOWN TO PIAZZA NAVONA AT NE P.M. TO SAY THEIR BREVIARI.” SACRAMENTS AND LURGY, THE FORMER PRIT SAYS, ARE “THE KERNEL OF WHAT MAK THE CHURCH IMPORTANT. THIS IS WHAT MAK POWERFUL. NOT THE PROTECTN OF MEDIEVAL STUTNS.”YET THE CHURCH, AS ITALIAN SOCIETY, ’S OFTEN THE SE THAT RIGHT APPEARANCE—LA BELLA FIGURA—IS ALL. IN EVERY TAIL, PARTI CELEBRATG APPOTMENT TO THE VATIN AND OTHER HIGH CHURCH OFFIC N BE LAVISH—“LIKE A POSH GIRL’S WEDDG”—WH MANY CLERICS ATTENDANCE BEG “GAY MEN WEARG EVERYTHG HANDMA, PERFECT, QUEER AS ,” OBSERV ONE PROMENT FIGURE THE ROMAN ART WORLD. BUT LA BELLA FIGURA MATTERS JT AS MUCH AT ORDARY MOMENTS. ESPECIALLY FOR CLERICS WHO BREAK THE VOW OF CELIBACY, IS CCIAL TO KEEP UP APPEARANC THE NORMAL URSE OF LIFE.GAY SNAS ARE GOOD PLAC TO MEET OTHER GAY PRITS AND MONKS. THE BT TIM TO FD CLERICS AT THE SNAS ARE LATE AFTERNOON OR EVENG ON THURSDAYS (WHEN PONTIFIL UNIVERSI HAVE NO CLASS) OR SUNDAYS (AFTER MASS). SOME GAY CELIBATE CLERICS E THE SNAS NOT FOR SEX BUT TO EXPERIENCE A SENSE OF FELLOWSHIP WH OTHERS LIKE THEMSELV. ONE LLS HIS SNA VISS “SOMETHG TO NFIRM MYSELF AS I AM.” (ROME HAS FEW GAY BARS, AND JOHN MOSS, THE AMERIN OWNER OF THE LARGT AND OLST ONE, THE HANGAR, SAYS THAT THE RISE OF INTER CISG, BED WH THE VATIN’S CRACKDOWN ON GAY PRITS, HAS CIMATED HIS GAY CLERIL CLIENTELE. “THERE ED TO BE SO MANY SEMARIANS—SUCH BETIFUL MEN—WHO ME TO THE BAR, AND WE WOULD EVEN GET HIRED TO TAKE PARTI TO THEM SOME OF THE RELIG HO. NOW THERE’S NOBODY.”)ONCE YOU MAKE A NNECTN, ’S POSSIBLE TO E YOUR MONASTERY CELL FOR SEXUAL ASSIGNATNS, AS LONG AS YOU DON’T MAKE MUCH NOISE. “YOU N SNEAK PEOPLE , NO PROBLEM,” ONE GAY MONK SAYS, “BUT TRY TO AVOID NSISTENT PATTERNS OF MOVEMENT.” IN OTHER WORDS, DON’T VE A GUY OVER ON THE SAME DAY OF THE WEEK, OR AT THE SAME TIME OF DAY, VERY OFTEN. THAT SAID, “NO ONE HAS SEX” WH OTHER RINTS OF HIS OWN MONASTERY, A FORMER MONK TOLD ME, “BEE IS LIKE A BIG BROTHER HOE. EVERYONE KNOWS EVERYTHG.”THE MORE SENR THE CLERIC, THE MORE LIKELY HE MAY BE TO PLAY LOOSE WH THE L. ONE LEADG VATIN REPORTER (WHO SAYS THAT, AMONG JOURNALISTS ON THE BEAT, THE TWO MOST MON TOPICS FOR GOSSIP ABOUT CHURCH OFFICIALS ARE “WHO’S GAY AND WHO’S ON THE TAKE”) SCRIB THE LOGIC OF SUCH BEHAVR. “EVERYTHG IS PERMTED BEE YOU ARE A PRCE OF THE URT,” HE SAYS. “IF YOU ARE TLY LOYAL AND ENTSTED WH THE HIGHT LEVEL OF RPONSIBILY, THERE HAS TO BE AN EXTRA LIBERTY ATTACHED ORR TO BE ABLE TO PULL OFF.”VOWS OF CELIBACY DON’T SAY ANYTHG ABOUT EYE NDY. SOME CURIA OFFICIALS ARE SAID TO HANDPICK EXTREMELY HANDSOME MEN FOR MENIAL JOBS ORR TO MAKE VATIN CY MORE SCENIC. A LAYMAN I KNOW WHOSE JOB REQUIR EQUENT TRIPS TO THE VATIN ED TO ENJOY FLIRTG WH A MCULAR GO-GO BOY WHO DANCED ON THE BAR AT A GAY NIGHTCLUB ROME. ONE DAY AT THE VATIN, THIS LAYMAN WAS AMAZED TO SEE THE DANCER OUT OF NTEXT, DRSED THE UNIFORM OF A SECURY GUARD. WHEN HE MA TO GREET THE MAN, THE GUARD SIGNALED HIM TO STAY BACK, RAISG A FGER TO HIS LIPS A QUIET “SHHHHH … ”WHERE SILENCE N’T STRICTLY BE KEPT, WORD GAM N PARTMENTALIZE THE TTH. IN THE VATIN OFFICE OF A MONSIGNOR WHO I’D BEEN TOLD MIGHT HAVE SOME FIRSTHAND KNOWLEDGE NCERNG RECENT GAY SNDALS THE CHURCH, I ASKED, POT-BLANK, “ARE YOU GAY?,” AND HE SERENELY ANSWERED, “NO.” I REPLIED, “I WONR, IF A PRIT IS HOMOSEXUAL—BUT DO NOT PARTICIPATE MASTREAM SECULAR GAY CULTURE—ULD HE SAY THAT HE IS NOT ‘GAY’ AND STILL THK HE’S TELLG THE TTH?” “WHAT AN TERTG QUTN,” THE MONSIGNOR SAID, IMMEDIATELY STANDG UP AND GTURG ME TO THE DOOR. “I’M AAID I DON’T HAVE ANY MORE TIME TO TALK.” HE SISTED ON PERSONALLY WALKG ME OUT OF THE BUILDG, AND AS WE PASSED ALONG A GRAND HALLWAY I REMARKED UPON S BETY. “I DON’T SEE ,” HE REPLIED ARCHLY. “TO ME, OTHER HALLWAYS ARE ‘BETIFUL.’ ” WAS THIS AN NOCENT REMARK, OR A D ANSWER TO MY QUTN? SOMETIM TALKG TO GAY PRITS FEELS LIKE READG STORI BY B.FOR THOSE WHO WANT , ANIZED WORKS N PROVI SOME GROUNDG. A FEW SMALL GROUPS OF GAY CATHOLICS ROME OPERATE PUBLICLY, BUT BEE ANYONE N E TO THEIR MEETGS, N BE RISKY FOR PRITS, PECIALLY VATIN OFFICIALS, TO BE PART OF THEM. ONE PRIVATE GROUP OF ABOUT 50 GAY PRITS AND LAYMEN MEETS ONCE A YEAR, FOR A KD OF RETREAT. A VATIN PRIT I MET WH—HE ACTUALLY VED ME TO STOP BY HIS OFFICE NEAR ST. PETER’S BEE HE SAID HE WANTED “TO SHOW THAT THIS IS NO SECRET,” THOUGH ’S SECRET ENOUGH THAT HE N’T BE NAMED—IS VOLVED WH THIS GROUP, AS PART OF AN UNOFFICIAL MISTRY ADDN TO HIS OFFICIAL DUTI. HE SAYS THAT HIS SUPERRS, CLUDG AT LEAST ONE VERY PROMENT VATIN OFFICIAL, HAVE LONG KNOWN HE IS GAY, AND HAVE EVEN PROMOTED HIM SCE LEARNG THAT FACT.YET GAYS THE VATIN, LIKE SPI TELLIGENCE SERVIC, HAB BOX WH BOX. THE PRIT WHO HELPS WH THE GROUP OF 50 RAISED HIS EYEBROWS WHEN I REPEATED TO HIM SOMETHG AN ARCHBISHOP HAD TOLD ME. “I KNOW A PRIT WHO MISTERS TO PEOPLE THE CURIA THAT SUATN,” THE ARCHBISHOP SAID, THOUGH “HE IS NOT ASSIGNED OFFICIALLY.”MOST POPULARTMP PLANS TO DEFEND HIMSELF AGAST ELECTN CHARG BY THROWG HIS LAWYERS UNR THE B: REPORTBY BS LEVEVERYTHG TO KNOW ABOUT ARIANA GRAN AND HER NEW BOYIEND, SPONGEBOB (ETHAN SLATER)BY KENZIE BRYANTVANY FAIR’S “IT’S RAG TEENS” COVER AT 20: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?BY SAVANNAH WALSH“THAT IS NOT ME,” THE PRIT SAID, AMAZED. “I WONR WHO ULD BE.”DON’T ASK, DON’T TELLAS YOU WOULD EXPECT, THE PRIT I MET THE SNA LOOKS RATHER DIFFERENT WH VTMENTS ON. WHEN I WALKED TO CHURCH A FEW DAYS LATER, FOR SUNDAY-MORNG MASS, HE WAS THE CELEBRANT—EVEN THOUGH, WHEN WE MET, HE HAD SAID HE WAS ABOUT TO LEAVE TOWN. MAYBE HIS PLANS HAD CHANGED AGA.HE WAS PREACHG A HOY ON THE GOSPEL READG, THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARAN. THE PRIT TOLD THE NGREGATN THAT THIS STORY WAS A CHALLENGE. A CHALLENGE TO ACCEPT “RISK FAVOR OF PASSN.” A CHALLENGE TO “LOOK MORE EPLY AT ‘WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?’ ” A CHALLENGE TO BE GENERO, UNLIKE “THE RELIG, SPIRUAL PERSON WHO DID NOTHG TO HELP.” LISTENG TO THE WORDS, I ULD NOT HELP BUT WONR: WHERE, THAT PARABLE, DO THIS PRIT SEE HIMSELF?FROM THE DAY AFTER THE NCLAVE END—WHEN FRANCIS WENT BACK TO HIS HOTEL AND PERSONALLY CHECKED OUT, PAID HIS BILL, AND PICKED UP HIS SUSE—THE NEW POPE HAS SURPRISED PEOPLE WH HIS ACTNS. DURG HOLY WEEK, HE WENT TO A JUVENILE PRISON AND WASHED THE FEET OF MAT, CLUDG TWO GIRLS AND TWO MLIMS. ONE MORNG, HE REPORTEDLY MA A SANDWICH FOR THE SWISS GUARD WHO HAD STOOD SENTEL OUTSI HIS ROOM ALL NIGHT. HE VED 200 HOMELS PEOPLE FOR DNER THE VATIN GARNS.FRANCIS HAS ALSO SAID SOME THGS THAT, OM A POPE’S MOUTH, SEEM EXTRAORDARY SIMPLY BEE THEY ARE SO DOWN TO EARTH—LIKE HIS CHOICE TO END ONE HOY WH THE UNTRADNAL EXHORTATN “HAVE A GOOD LUNCH!” YET THE FIRST TIME THIS POPE’S WORDS, RATHER THAN HIS ACTNS, MA SIGNIFINT HEADL WAS NNECTN WH HIS MENTS ABOUT THE “GAY LOBBY.”AS NOTED, THE PHRASE FIRST GAED CURRENCY BEFORE FRANCIS ME ON THE SCENE, BUT RETURNED TO PUBLIC DISCSN JT AS HE GOT SER ABOUT WHAT MAY BE A HALLMARK OF HIS PAPACY: A CLEANUP OF VATIN RPTN. THE SPE OF HIS NCERN ABOUT ABE OF POWER SEEMS TOTAL. HE IS REFORMG EVERYTHG OM THE VATIN BANK’S BOOKKEEPG TO THE NTENTS OF THE PAPAL WARDROBE.FOR A LONG TIME, GAY PRITS HAVE MA FOR NVENIENT SPEGOATS AND HANDY PAWNS CHURCH POWER GAM. ALL OF THEM, WHETHER ACTIVELY OR PASSIVELY, HAVE HELPED CREATE THE ROL FOR THEMSELV, AND THEY N HARDLY IMAGE A DIFFERENT REALY—UNLS THEY WERE TO EMERGE OM THE CLOSET AND GET THROWN OUT OF THE PRITHOOD. ONE MONK TOLD ME, “A LOT OF WILL NOT NMN. BUT NOT SPEAK OUT. WE’RE A SYSTEM THAT NTROLS . THE LONGER YOU’RE , THE MORE NTROLS, THE MORE YOU ASSUME THE CLERIL POSN.” THEY KEEP HOPE SMALL, OR SNUFF ENTIRELY. THEY BELIEVE THAT NOTHG AND NO ONE ULD MAKE THE CHURCH SAFE FOR THEM. MIGHT THIS CHANGE? “NOT MY LIFETIME,” THEY ALL SAY.YET, BEFORE HE BEME FRANCIS, JE BERGOGL WAS A JU. AS *NATNAL CATHOLIC REPORTER’*S JOHN ALLEN, THE AN OF THE AMERIN VATIN-WATCHERS, TOLD ME, “THERE’S A KD OF CATHOLIC VERSN OF ‘DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL’ THAT THE JUS WOULD BE PARTICULARLY NOTED FOR. THERE ARE GUYS THE JU WORLD THAT EVERYBODY KNOWS ARE GAY, BUT THEY DON’T GO AROUND MAKG A BIG AL OUT OF .” WHILE POPE BENEDICT’S VATIN ATTEMPTED TO MAKE SURE GAYS KNEW THEY WERE UNWELE THE PRITHOOD, THE JUS VELOPED A REPUTATN FOR TOLERATG AND EVEN PROTECTG THEIR GAY BRETHREN.IN THE LLEGIAL JU SPIR, FRANCIS APPOTED EIGHT RDALS TO SERVE AS HIS RE ADVISERS ON SIGNIFINT ISSU, AND THE G YEARS, THIS GROUP MAY HAVE AS MUCH FLUENCE ON THE SUATN OF GAYS THE PRITHOOD AS FRANCIS HIMSELF. WHEN I ASKED AN ARCHBISHOP HOW HE THKS THE RDALS’ NVERSATN ABOUT THEIR GAY BROTHERS WILL GO, HE ANSWERED WH REFERENCE NOT TO THE HOLY SPIR BUT TO THE GOD OF FORTUNE. “RIGHT NOW THE SURT THG I N SAY IS THAT THERE’S CHANGE THE AIR,” HE SAID. “IF YOU ULD SAY WHAT WILL HAPPEN, YOU ULD SAY WHO’D W THE LOTTERY.”THE NEXT TIME I HEARD MENTN OF A LOTTERY WAS A FEW DAYS LATER, AT DNER WH A GAY MONK WHO TOLD ME THAT HE HAD RECENTLY FALLEN LOVE FOR THE FIRST TIME, WH A MAN. “AM I A CLERIL HYPOCRE? I GUS ONE WAY I AM,” HE SAID, THE MIDDLE OF A LONG AND EMOTNAL NARRATIVE, BEFORE BRGG THE NVERSATN TO BEDROCK REALY. “BUT I’M OVER 60. I HAVE NOTHG FANCIALLY. I N’T LEAVE.” AND THEN HE SAID, “IF I WON THE POWERBALL LOTTO, I WOULD LEAVE.”NOTE: AN ALTERATN WAS MA THE PASSAGE ABOUT MAR POLI’S LA CONFSNE, REPUBLISHED AS IO, PRETE GAY, ORR TO GIVE A MORE ACCURATE SCRIPTN OF THE BOOK.MICHAEL JOSEPH GROSS
• SEX PARTI, DGS AND GAY ESRTS AT THE POPE'S RINCE: UNRVER THE VATIN
• FOUR FIVE VATIN PRITS ARE GAY, BOOK CLAIMS
• 'GAY ROMANCE' WH SWISS SOLDIER SHOCKS VATIN
• RETIRED SWISS GUARD MANR NFIRMS EXISTENCE OF VATIN’S ‘GAY LOBBY’
• VATIN MURR MYSTERY: WAS IT A GAY LOVE TRIANGLE?BARBIE LATZA NA ON THE MURR OF THE POPE’S BODYGUARD—AND THE POSSIBLE GAY LOVE TRIANGLE THAT TRIGGERED .BARBIE LATZA NAUPDATED JUL. 13, 2017 11:08PM EDT AP PHOTOON MAY 4, 1998, FIVE SHOTS RANG OUT SI A PRIVATE APARTMENT TUCKED WH THE FORTIFIED WALLS OF VATIN CY ROME. DEAD WERE ALOIS ESTERMANN, THE NEWLY APPOTED MANR OF THE ELE SWISS GUARD ARMY THAT PROTECTS THE POPE; ESTERMANN’S VENEZUELAN WIFE, GLADYS MEZA ROMERO, A FORMER MOL; AND CEDRIC TORNAY, WHO WAS A RPORAL THE SWISS GUARD. NO ONE HEARD THE SHOTS, ACRDG TO NEIGHBORS WHO WERE TERVIEWED AFTER THE MURRS, BUT THE THREE BODI WERE ENOUGH PROOF TO SOLVE THE CRIME, AT LEAST ACRDG TO THE VATIN. THE HOLY SEE’S OFFICIAL LE WAS THAT RPORAL TORNAY HAD KILLED ESTERMANN AND HIS WIFE BEFORE PUTTG HIS 7MM PISTOL TO HIS MOUTH AND BLOWG HIS BRAS OUT. THE MOTIVE WAS SIMPLE, THEY SAID. TORNAY HAD BEEN PASSED UP BY ESTERMANN FOR A PROMOTN AND ULD NOT NTA HIS RAGE. BUT THE TTH BEHD THE VATIN’S SWISS GUARD MURRS IS FAR MORE PLEX, SAYS TORNAY’S MOTHER, MUGUETTE BDAT. EARLIER THIS MONTH SHE PLEAD TO POPE BENEDICT XVI TO REOPEN THE SE AND CLEAR HER SON’S NAME. IN A BRIEF TERVIEW WH THE DAILY BEAST, SHE SAYS HER SON WAS THE VICTIM OF A VER-UP, NOT THE PERPETRATOR OF A MURR-SUICI. “MY SON IS NOT THE MAN BEHD SUCH A MURR,” SHE SAID. “HE WAS NOT CRAZY AND VENGEFUL. HE WAS ACTUALLY A VICTIM THIS CRIME.”BDAT HAS WRTEN A LETTER TO THE CURRENT POPE THE HOPE HE WILL REOPEN THE SE. SHE BELIEV THAT BEE BENEDICT WAS A KEY ADMISTRATOR THE VATIN HIERARCHY DURG HER SON’S MURR VTIGATN, HE MAY BE WILLG TO REVTIGATE THE SE FOR THE SAKE OF TRANSPARENCY. “HE MIGHT WANT CLEAR HIS NSCIENCE,” SHE SAYS. “IT WOULD BE THE RIGHT THG TO DO.”WHEN HAPPENED, THE SWISS GUARD MURR SHOOK ROME TO S RE. BEE VATIN CY IS A SOVEREIGN NATN, HAS S OWN POLICE AND VTIGATIVE UNS. THE POPE IS THE HEAD OF STATE, AND NO ONE THE PAPAL ADMISTRATN HAS TO ANSWER TO ANYONE OUTSI THE VATIN WALLS—EVEN THOUGH THE TY NATN IS TUCKED SI THE CY OF ROME. SECRECY SHROUD THE SE OM THE MOMENT THE NEWS BROKE. IN THE HOURS AFTER A VATIN SIR LEAKED THE NEWS OF A MURR, LOL ITALIAN JOURNALISTS SPECULATED THAT THEN–POPE JOHN PL II HIMSELF HAD BEEN THE VICTIM OF A GUNMAN’S WRATH. IT TOOK NEARLY 24 HOURS FOR THE VATIN TO CLARIFY THAT HAD BEEN THE HEAD OF THE POPE’S PROTECTIVE ARM WHO HAD BEEN KILLED A MURR-SUICI AND NOT THE POPE HIMSELF. IN THE YEARS THAT FOLLOWED, REPORTERS FOLLOWED SEVERAL LEADS A YET- UNSOLVED QUT FOR THE TTH ABOUT WHAT MAY HAVE REALLY HAPPENED THAT NIGHT. SEVERAL BOOKS HAVE BEEN PENNED ABOUT THE SE, BUT NONE SO FAR HAVE TLY SOLVED THE CRIME. IT WAS NO SECRET WH THE SWISS GUARD THAT ESTERMANN WAS A BISEXUAL WHO HAD A WEAKNS FOR YOUNG RECS AND HAD ALLEGEDLY JT END A SEXUAL RELATNSHIP WH TORNAY, WHO WAS 23 AT THE TIME. ONE THEORY IS THAT WHEN ESTERMANN TURNED HIS AFFECTNS TO ANOTHER YOUNG REC, TORNAY ALLEGEDLY LOST HIS TEMPER AND KILLED ESTERMANN AND HIS WIFE A JEALO RAGE. IN A BOOK ON THE SE LLED VERBUM DEI ET VERBUM GAY ("GOD'S WORD, GAY WORD"), THOR MASSIMO LACCHEI WR THAT THE DAYS BEFORE THE MURRS, HE HAD OBSERVED ESTERMANN AND TORNAY AT WHAT HE SCRIB AS A GAY BNCH AND HAD LATER TERVIEWED TORNAY, WHO HE SAID WAS CLEARLY ATTACHED TO HIS SUPERR. HE SAYS, ''THEY WERE SO TIMATE AND IENDLY FOR A SUBORDATE AND A PTA.”ANOTHER THEORY IS THAT ESTERMANN WAS AT THE RE OF A POWER STGGLE WH THE SWISS GUARD SELF. ON ONE SI WAS THE üBER-NSERVATIVE OP DEI MOVEMENT, AND ON THE OTHER A MASONIC SECT WH GROWG STRENGTH WH THE ELE GUARD. ESTERMANN, WHO WAS APPOTED AS THE GUARDS’ NEW MANR JT HOURS BEFORE HE WAS MURRED, WAS UGHT THE MIDDLE, ACRDG TO A BOOK LLED BLOOD LI THE VATIN, WRTEN BY ANONYMO THORS WHO CLAIM TO BE PRITS AND SIRS WHO LIVE SI THE VATIN WALLS. THEY MATA THAT TORNAY WAS ATTACKED AND DRAGGED TO THE VATIN CELLAR, WHERE HE WAS “SUICID” BY MANDOS AND THEN LATER PLACED ESTERMANN’S APARTMENT AFTER THE REAL ASSAILANTS DID THEIR DIRTY WORK. THEY NCLU, “THE ELEMENT THAT UNRM THE OFFICIAL TTH IS THE FACT THAT NO ONE HEARD THE FIVE LOUD SHOTS FIRED BY THE POWERFUL PISTOL FOUND UNR CEDRIC TORNAY’S BODY.”TORNAY’S MOTHER BELIEV THE SEND THEORY MORE THAN THE FIRST, BUT KNOWS THE TTH ULD LIE SOMEWHERE THE MIDDLE. SHE SAYS HER SON WAS THE PAWN OF MORE POWERFUL ENTI AND GOT UGHT THE CROSSFIRE A SUATN HE LIKELY KNEW NOTHG ABOUT. SHE NI HER SON’S HOMOSEXUAL AFFAIR WH HIS BOSS, BUT NCES THAT HE MAY HAVE BEEN TOO TSTG AND THEREFORE EASILY TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF. EHER WAY, SHE IS TERMED TO FD THE TTH ABOUT HER SON.POPE BENEDICT XVI HAS NOT YET RPOND OFFICIALLY TO TORNAY'S MOTHER’S LETTER. HER LAWYER LUC BROSSOLLET SAYS SHE WILL NOT LET GO. “THE SE IS FULL OF SUPPRSED EVINCE, NTRADICTNS, AND LI,” HE SAID RECENTLY. “IT’S TIME TO FD THE SHAMEFUL TTH.” BARBIE LATZA NA
• VATIN’S POPE-PROTECTG SWISS GUARDS ACCED OF SECRET GAY LOBBYACCATNS ARE SWIRLG ABOUT A SECRET GAY BAL SI THE VATIN'S POPE-PROTECTG FORC AND HOW MUCH KNEW ABOUT THE PARTURE OF POPE BENEDICT.BARBIE LATZA NAUPDATED APR. 14, 2017 1:05PM EDT FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP/GETTYFOR MORE THAN A YEAR NOW, THERE HAS BEEN AMPLE TALK AROUND ROME ABOUT A POWERFUL GAY LOBBY AT WORK SI THE VATIN. WHEN POPE BENEDICT XVI RIGNED FEBARY 2013, MORS WERE RAMPANT THAT THE ALLEGED GAY LOBBY WAS PART OF THE REASON HE LEFT THE PAPACY. APPARENTLY THE GAY LOBBY WAS SO POWERFUL WAS GIVEN AMPLE K A STILL-SECRET RED-VERED DOSSIER PRENTED TO BENEDICT AS PART OF A VATILEAKS TERNAL VTIGATN AFTER HIS BUTLER WAS NVICTED OF STEALG HIS PRIVATE PAPERS.THE NEW POPE FRANCIS EVEN REFERRED TO THE GAY LOBBY AT A JUNE 6 MEETG WH LAT AMERIN PRELAT. “IN THE CURIA THERE ARE HOLY PEOPLE, TLY HOLY PEOPLE,” FRANCIS REPORTEDLY TOLD THE LAT AMERIN LEGATN. “BUT THERE IS ALSO A CURRENT OF RPTN, ALSO THERE IS, IS TE … THEY SPEAK OF A ‘GAY LOBBY,’ AND THAT IS TE, IS THERE.”FRH ALLEGATNS NOW POT TO THE LOBBY EXTENDG EP TO THE SWISS GUARD, THE POPE’S ELE PROTECTIVE SECURY FORCE, WHO ARE KNOWN FOR THEIR STRIPED YELLOW, RED, ORANGE AND BLUE RENAISSANCE UNIFORMS. THE ELE TROOPS ARE SPECIALLY TRAED SWISS SOLDIERS BETWEEN THE AGE OF 19 AND 30. THE JOB PAYS AROUND $1,000 A MONTH AND CLUS ROOM AND BOARD. IN 1998, AN UNKNOWN GUARD APPARENTLY MURRED A MANR AND THE MAN’S WIFE WHAT MANY SI THE VATIN SPECTED WAS A GAY LOVE TRIANGLE. THE SE REMAS A MYSTERY AND WAS THE BIGGT SNDAL TO ROCK THE SWISS GUARD. UNTIL NOW.IN EARLY JANUARY OF THIS YEAR, A FORMER GUARD TOLD SWISS NEWSPAPER SCHWEIZ OM SONNTAG THAT HE HAD BEEN PROPOSNED DOZENS OF TIM BY PRITS WHO LIVED AND WORKED SI VATIN CY. ONE, WHOM THE UNNAMED GUARD SAID WAS PARTICULARLY BRAZEN, ALLEGEDLY NVCED THE GUARD TO JO HIM FOR DNER ONLY TO TELL HIM THAT HE SHOULD BE “SERVED FOR SSERT,” ACRDG TO THE SWISS PAPER. THE FORMER GUARD ALSO TOLD THE SWISS PAPER HE HAD BEEN MANHANDLED BY VAR CLERGY WHO WERE TRYG TO BED HIM. AS A FOLLOW-UP TO THE STORY, SCHWEIZ ON SONNTAG THEN TERVIEWED ELMAR MAR, A FORMER MANR WHO LED THE ELE FORCE OM 2002 TO 2008, WHO SEND THE MORS, AND WENT ONE STEP FURTHER, TELLG THE PAPER THAT ULD NOT “REFUTE THE CLAIM THAT THERE IS A WORK OF HOMOSEXUALS” WH THE SWISS GUARD SELF. MAR EVEN TOLD THE SWISS PAPER THAT HE PURPOSEFULLY DID NOT PROMOTE GAY SWISS GUARDS OUT OF FEAR THAT THEY WOULD BE DISLOYAL. “I ALSO LEARNED THAT MANY HOMOSEXUALS ARE CLED TO BE MORE LOYAL TO EACH OTHER THAN TO OTHER PEOPLE OR STUTNS. IF THIS LOYALTY WERE TO GO SO FAR AS TO BEE A WORK OR EVEN A KD OF SECRET SOCIETY, I WOULD NOT TOLERATE MY SPHERE OF CISN MAKG. KEY PEOPLE THE VATIN NOW SEEM TO AGREE.”IN THE TERVIEW, MAR ALSO CLAIMED THE VATIN WAS “LIKE A MAG” FOR GAYS, WHO HE SAID TEND TO BE DRAWN TO ALL-MALE ENVIRONMENTS. HE ALSO SAID THAT WHEN HE RETIRED, HE RMED THE LIAISON WH THE HOLY SEE ABOUT HIS NCERNS OF THE GROWG “SECRET SOCIETY” AND THAT HE FEARED MIGHT PUT THE POPE AT RISK.MAR’S MENTS RAISED THE IRE SEVERAL HIGH-RANKG VATIN OFFICIALS, WHO HAVE VED THE RETIRED OFFICER TO E FORWARD WH NAM IF HE STANDS BEHD HIS ALLEGATNS. THE VATIN’S PUTY SECRETARY OF STATE, ARCHBISHOP ANGELO BECCIU, TOLD ITALY’S LA REPUBBLI NEWSPAPER THAT HE HAD CHALLENGED MAR TO MEET HIM. “IF ELMAR MAR WANTS TO E AND SAY EXACTLY WHO HE IS REFERRG TO, I AM HERE,” HE TOLD LA REPUBBLI. “MY OFFICE IS OPEN.POPE FRANCIS HAS NOT SPOKEN OUT ON THE MATTER YET, BUT ONE OF HIS NEWLY NAMED RDALS HAS ANGERED GAY RIGHTS GROUPS WHEN HE LLED HOMOSEXUALY A “BODILY FECT.” FERNANDO SEBASTIEN, 84, WHO IS SLATED TO BEE A RDAL POPE FRANCIS’S FIRST NSISTORY ON FEBARY 22, WILL LIKELY NOT BE VED TO JO THE VATIN’S GAY LOBBY. HE TOLD SPANISH NEWSPAPER DIAR SUR THAT, MOST S, HOMOSEXUALY “N BE CURED WH AQUATE TREATMENT.” HE THEN SAID HE WASN’T AGAST GAY PEOPLE, AND THAT THEIR “FECT” WAS LIKE HIS OWN HIGH BLOOD PRSURE, FOR WHICH THERE WAS ALSO A TREATMENT. BARBIE LATZA NA

THE SWISS GUARDS' GAY MAFIA

Apparently the gay lobby was so powerful was given ample k a still-secret red-vered dossier prented to Benedict as part of a Vatileaks ternal vtigatn after his butler was nvicted of stealg his private new Pope Francis even referred to the gay lobby at a June 6 meetg wh Lat Amerin prelat. The former guard also told the Swiss paper he had been manhandled by var clergy who were tryg to bed MORE Peace South SudanAs a follow-up to the story, Schweiz on Sonntag then terviewed Elmar Mar, a former manr who led the ele force om 2002 to 2008, who send the mors, and went one step further, tellg the paper that uld not “refute the claim that there is a work of homosexuals” wh the Swiss Guard self.

SWISS GUARD VETERAN CLAIMS EXISTENCE OF 'GAY WORK' AT THE VATIN

Former member of the Swiss Guard says he was regularly asked for sex by 'gay lobby' of bishops, rdals and prits while servg at the VatinSwiss Guard got upto 20 'unambiguo requts' om clergy membersDignary close to Pope John Pl II ma sexual proposnHe claims high rankg official fondled himVatin dismissed claims as 'not credible' Published: 10:28 BST, 6 January 2014 | Updated: 11:52 BST, 6 January 2014 A former Swiss Guard has claimed he was regularly asked for sex by a 'gay lobby' of high-rankg clergy the Vatin. Allegatns: The former Swiss Guard claims he was asked for gay sex by a senr dignary close the Pope John Pl II, pictured, The former guard said his experienc, several years ago, add weight to allegatns of a 'gay lobby' beg active the Breenmoser, a spokman for the Swiss Guard, which numbers 110 men, told Schweiz am Sonntag that 'the mour of a homosexual work the heart of the Vatin was not a problem'.

VATIN PRELATE 'GAY ROMANCE' WH SWISS GUARD

'Francis said that gay prits should be fiven and their ss fotten a shift om his precsor Pope Benedict XVI who led that gays should not be Swiss Guard was shaken earlier by a gay ntroversy at the Vatin 1998 when s manr Alois Estermann and his wife were shot ad by young guard Cédric Tornay, who later turned the gun on himself. 'The ntroversy jt weeks after Pope Francis nfirmed the existence of a 'gay lobby' the Vatin to a visg Lat Amerin church apparent work si the supposedly celibate and stnchly anti-homosexual Church is one reason why Pope Francis is workg on a thorough hoe-cleang of the Roman curia. Another Swiss Guard, terviewed Basel, nfirms to me that the homosexualy of the rdals and prelat is one of the most equently discsed subjects the barracks, and the stori they hear om their ras further amplify the experienc they have had themselv.

A former manr of the Swiss Guard, the small force of men whose job is to protect the pope, has said there is "a work of homosexuals" wh the Vatin, the latt a seri of claims about gay prits workg at the heart of the Roman Catholic Mär, who was mandant of the Guard om 2002 until 2008, said his time at the heart of the Vatin had given him an sight to certa aspects of life there.

"At the time, spokman Urs Breenmoser said the moured gay work did not pose a problem to the Swiss Guard, whose members he said were motivated by entirely different about the claims, Mär reportedly said stori of this kd "obvly lackg factual basis" were sometim told. "Though do not nmn gay people, whom says should be "accepted wh rpect, passn and sensivy, " the techism of the Catholic church teach that homosexual acts are "objectively disorred" and lls gay people to abstence.

THE VATIN’S SWISS GUARDS BREAK UP A DG-FUELED GAY ORGY POPE FRANCIS’ BACKYARD

I thk that when we enunter a gay person, we mt make the distctn between the fact of a person beg gay and the fact of a lobby, bee lobbi are not good, " the pontiff told journalists, while at the same time jokg that, while there was a lot of talk about a gay lobby, he had never seen stamped on a Vatin inty Francis signalled a clear nciliatory tone on the issue, he add: "If they accept the Lord and have goodwill, who am I to judge them?

"Along wh all gay people the armed forc, I would advise Mär to bee better rmed, " said Aurel Manco, chairman of Grilli, chairman of Gay, add: "Statistilly, gays are the least vlent group human society so if the pope were really surround by homosexuals, he uld sleep easy.

VATIN RIDDLED WH GAYS: EX-SWISS GUARD

(AFP/File)VATICAN CITY (AFP) – The Vatin's "gay lobby" was back the headl on Friday after the alleged exposure of a homosexual prelate appoted by Pope Francis to a key posn at the Vatin Italian weekly L'Esprso said prelate Battista Ric had gay relatnships durg his time at the Vatin embassy of Montevio Uguay as well as an affair wh a Swiss guard which ultimately saw him sent back to Rome disgrace. Vatin expert for L'Esprso Sandro Magister said Ric provid lodggs and a pay check for pta Patrick Haari 1999 and was once left badly beaten after trawlg notor gay hangouts before his behavur saw him transferred out of Montevio ternal bid to protect him and ver up the sndal meant Francis apparently had no ia about Ric's past before he appoted him as his personal reprentative at the sndal-h bank this went on to hold several prtig posns Rome, cludg the director of the Santa Martha rince where the pope liv.

THE VATIN’S SECRET LIFEDPE HEADL ABOUT A POWERFUL “GAY LOBBY” WH THE VATIN, AND A NEW POPE PROMISG REFORM, THE CATHOLIC CHURCH’S GAY RDALS, MONKS, AND OTHER CLERGY HAB A HIDN HERWORLD. IN ROME, THE THOR LEARNS HOW THEY NAVIGATE THE DANGERO PARADOX OF THEIR LIV.BY MICHAEL JOSEPH GROSSNOVEMBER 15, 2013SAVE THIS STORYSAVESAVE THIS STORYSAVENAKED BUT FOR THE TOWEL AROUND HIS WAIST, A MAN OF A CERTA AGE SAT BY HIMSELF, BENT SLIGHTLY FORWARD AS IF PRAYG, A RNER OF THE SNA AT A GYM CENTRAL ROME. I HAD NOT MET THIS MAN BEFORE, BUT AS I ENTERED THE SNA, I THOUGHT I REGNIZED HIM OM PHOTOGRAPHS. HE LOOKED LIKE A PRIT WH WHOM I’D RRPOND AFTER MUTUAL IENDS PUT TOUCH, A MAN I HAD WANTED TO NSULT ABOUT GAY CLERICS THE VATIN CURIA. MY IENDS TOLD ME THAT THIS PRIT WAS GAY, POLILLY SAVVY, AND WELL NNECTED TO THE GAY CHURCH HIERARCHY ROME.BUT THIS ULDN’T BE THAT PRIT. HE HAD TOLD ME THAT HE’D BE AWAY AND ULDN’T MEET. YET AS I LOOKED AT THE MAN MORE CLOSELY, I SAW THAT WAS FELY HIM. WHEN WE WERE ALONE, I SPOKE HIS NAME, TELLG HIM ME. “I THOUGHT YOU WERE OUT OF THE UNTRY,” I SAID. “HOW LUCKY FOR ME: YOU’RE HERE!” STARTLED, THE PRIT TALKED FAST. Y, HIS PLANS HAD CHANGED, HE SAID, BUT HE WAS LEAVG AGA THE NEXT DAY AND WOULD RETURN ONLY AFTER I WAS GONE.DURG THE PREV FEW DAYS, I HAD HEARD A LOT ABOUT THIS MAN. I HAD HEARD THAT HE IS A GOSSIP, A SOCIAL OPERATOR WHOSE LENDAR IS A BLUR OF DRKS AND DNERS WH RDALS AND ARCHBISHOPS, PRCIPSAS AND PERSONAL TRAERS. SUPPOSEDLY, HE LOV TO DISH MALE LLEAGU WH MPY FEMALE NICKNAM. BUT I WOULD NEVER HAVE THE EXPERIENCE FIRSTHAND. THE PRIT WAS EMBARRASSED: TO HAVE BEEN CHANCED UPON AT THIS PLACE; TO HAVE HAD HIS SMALL EVASNS REVEALED. THE ENUNTER WAS AWKWARD. NO, HE DID NOT WISH TO DISCS THE SUBJECT I WAS TERTED . NO, HE DID NOT THK THE SUBJECT WORTHWHILE. THE THGS HE MA CLEAR. WE LEFT THE SNA AND, AFTER FURTHER NVERSATN, CIVIL BUT STILTED, WENT OUR SEPARATE WAYS.I ULD UNRSTAND HIS DISFORT. BUT ROME THE DAYS THE TOPIC OF GAY PRITS THE UPPER REACH OF THE HOLY SEE IS HARD TO AVOID. IN FEBARY OF THIS YEAR, NOT LONG BEFORE THE COLLEGE OF CARDALS GATHERED THE SISTE CHAPEL FOR THE NCLAVE TO CHOOSE THE 266TH POPE, THE LARGT ITALIAN DAILY NEWSPAPER, LA REPUBBLI, REPORTED THAT A “GAY LOBBY”—A MORE OR LS UNIFIED BAL OF HOMOSEXUAL POWER BROKERS—MIGHT BE OPERATG SI THE VATIN. ACRDG TO THE NEWSPAPER, THE POSSIBLE EXISTENCE OF THIS GAY LOBBY WAS AMONG THE MANY SECRETS SCRIBED A TWO-VOLUME, 300-PAGE REPORT BOUND RED AND PRENTED TO POPE BENEDICT XVI BY THREE RDALS HE HAD APPOTED TO VTIGATE THE AFFAIR KNOWN AS “VATILEAKS.” THAT SNDAL, WHICH RAISED H SPICNS OF ENMIC RPTN WH THE CURIA, HAD BROKEN THE PREV YEAR AFTER PAOLO GABRIELE, THE PAPAL BUTLER, MA OFF WH SOME OF BENEDICT’S PRIVATE PAPERS AND LEAKED THEM TO THE PRS.THE TERNAL VATILEAKS REPORT, ACRDG TO LA REPUBBLI, DITED THAT GAY CLERICS THE VATIN WERE BEG BLACKMAILED. THE REPORT WAS ALSO SAID TO DOCUMENT THE ALLEGED GAY LOBBY’S SOCIAL STCTURE AND CTOMS. YET TAILS NCERNG GAY PRITS’ GATHERGS ADD UP TO OLD NEWS: THE TAL HAD BEEN TOLD ARTICL PREVLY PUBLISHED BY LA REPUBBLI SELF. SENSATNALLY, THE NEWSPAPER SUGGTED THAT BENEDICT’S NCERN ABOUT THE ALLEGED GAY LOBBY WAS ONE REASON HE HAD SUDNLY RIGNED THE PAPACY.MONTHS LATER, ANOTHER LEAK OF NFINTIAL RMATN BROUGHT THE SUBJECT OF A GAY LOBBY BACK TO THE NEWS. SOMEONE TOOK NOT DURG WHAT WAS MEANT TO BE A PRIVATE MEETG BETWEEN LAT-AMERIN CHURCH LEARS AND THE NEW POPE, THE FORMER RDAL JE BERGOGL, ARCHBISHOP OF BUENOS AIR, NOW KNOWN AS FRANCIS. IN JUNE, THOSE NOT WERE PUBLISHED ON A PROGRSIVE CATHOLIC WEB SE. FRANCIS WAS QUOTED AS SAYG, “THE ‘GAY LOBBY’ IS MENTNED, AND IS TE, IS THERE … WE NEED TO SEE WHAT WE N DO.”A CLOSET WH NO DOORGAY LOBBY? IT PENDS ON WHAT YOU MEAN. THE TERM ULD REFER TO A SHADOWY GROUP LIKE THE ILLUMATI, WHOSE MEMBERS QUIETLY EXERCISE SUPREME POWER. THIS IS THE SORT OF IA THAT LIGHTS UP THE TIL HATS OF NSPIRACY THEORISTS, AND DON’T PTURE THE SLOW, FDAL, EFFICIENT WORKGS OF THE VATIN. “GAY LOBBY” IS REALLY SHORTHAND FOR SOMETHG ELSE. AT THE VATIN, A SIGNIFINT NUMBER OF GAY PRELAT AND OTHER GAY CLERICS ARE POSNS OF GREAT THORY. THEY MAY NOT ACT AS A LLECTIVE BUT ARE AWARE OF ONE ANOTHER’S EXISTENCE. AND THEY HAB A SECRETIVE HERWORLD, BEE HOMOSEXUALY IS OFFICIALLY NMNED. THOUGH THE NUMBER OF GAY PRITS GENERAL, AND SPECIFILLY AMONG THE CURIA ROME, IS UNKNOWN, THE PROPORTN IS MUCH HIGHER THAN THE GENERAL POPULATN. BETWEEN 20 AND 60 PERCENT OF ALL CATHOLIC PRITS ARE GAY, ACRDG TO ONE TIMATE CED BY DONALD B. COZZENS HIS WELL-REGARD THE CHANGG FACE OF THE PRITHOOD. FOR GAY CLERICS AT THE VATIN, ONE FUNDAMENTAL NDN OF THEIR POWER, AND OF THEIR PRITHOOD, IS SILENCE, AT LEAST PUBLIC, ABOUT WHO THEY REALLY ARE.CLERICS HAB THIS SILENCE A VARIETY OF WAYS. A FEW KEEP THEIR SEXUALY ENTIRELY PRIVATE AND ADHERE TO THE VOW OF CELIBACY. MANY OTHERS QUIETLY LET THEMSELV BE KNOWN AS GAY TO A LIMED GREE, TO SOME LLEAGU, OR TO SOME LAYPEOPLE, OR BOTH; SOMETIM THEY REMA CELIBATE AND SOMETIM THEY DO NOT. A THIRD WAY, PERHAPS THE LEAST MON BUT CERTALY THE MOST VISIBLE, VOLV LIVG A DOUBLE LIFE. OCSNALLY SUCH CLERICS ARE UNMASKED, UALLY BY STORI THE ITALIAN PRS. IN 2010, FOR THE BETTER PART OF A MONTH, ONE STRAIGHT JOURNALIST PRETEND TO BE THE BOYIEND OF A GAY MAN WHO ACTED AS A “HONEYPOT” AND ENTRAPPED ACTUAL GAY PRITS VAR SEXUAL SUATNS. (THE RDAL VIR OF ROME WAS GIVEN THE TASK OF VTIGATG. THE PRITS’ FAT ARE UNKNOWN.)THERE ARE AT LEAST A FEW GAY RDALS, CLUDG ONE WHOSE LONG-TERM PARTNER IS A WELL-KNOWN MISTER A PROTTANT NOMATN. THERE IS THE NOTOR MONSIGNOR NICKNAMED “JSI,” WHO LIK TO VIS A PONTIFIL UNIVERSY AND PASS OUT HIS BS RD TO 25-YEAR-OLD NOVIC. (AMONG THE MONSIGNOR’S PICKUP L: “DO YOU WANT TO SEE THE BED OF JOHN XXIII?”) THERE’S THE SUPPOSEDLY STRAIGHT MAN WHO HAS A SECRET LIFE AS A GAY PROSTUTE ROME AND POSTS PHOTOGRAPHS ONLE OF THE NERMOST RRIDORS OF THE VATIN. WHETHER HE RECEIVED THIS PRIVILEGED ACCS OM SOME IEND OR FAY MEMBER, OR OM A CLIENT, IS IMPOSSIBLE TO SAY; TO SEE A KNOWN RENT BOY BLACK LEATHER ON A PRIVATE VATIN BALNY DO RAISE AN EYEBROW.THE VATIN HOLDS SECRETS SO TIGHTLY THAT N MAKE FORT MEA LOOK LIKE A SLOPPY DNK. YET DOZENS OF TERVIEWS WH CURRENT AND FORMER GAY PRITS, GAY MONKS, VETERAN VATIN JOURNALISTS, ITALIAN ARISTOCRATS, AND GAY MEN AT ROMAN GYMS, BARS, NIGHTCLUBS, SEX CLUBS, AND RTRANTS SUGGT THAT, RIVETG AS THE MORE GRAPHIC STORI ARE, THEY NVEY A LIMED PART OF THE REALY OF GAY CLERIL LIFE ROME. TO BE GAY THE VATIN IS NO GUARANTEE OF SUCCS, MARK OF BELONGG, OR SHORTCUT TO EROTIC TRIGUE. MOST BASILLY IS A SENTENCE OF ISOLATN. GAYS THE VATIN ARE CREATUR OF A CUTTHROAT BURECRACY WHOSE DOGMATIC WORLDVIEW NI OR NIGRAT THEIR OWN EXISTENCE. THEY LIVE A CLOSET THAT HAS NO DOOR. AMONG RECENT POP, BENEDICT MA THE MOST NCERTED EFFORT TO SHARPEN CHURCH DOCTRE ON HOMOSEXUALY, WHICH HE ONCE LLED “A MORE OR LS STRONG TENNCY ORRED TOWARD AN TRSIC MORAL EVIL.” HE TRIED TO CULL GAYS OM CLERIL RANKS, MOST NOTABLY 2005, WHEN MEN WH KNOWN “EP-SEATED HOMOSEXUAL TENNCI” WERE PROHIBED OM BEG ORDAED, EVEN IF THEY WERE CELIBATE.DENUNCIATN AND EXPOSURE HAVE MA GAY PRITS FIGUR OF FASCATN—THOUGH LS AS PEOPLE THAN AS SYMBOLS—PECIALLY TO THE SECULAR FAR LEFT AND THE RELIG FAR RIGHT. BOTH SIS FD THE CLERICS TO BE POLILLY EFUL. THE LEFT THEM TO LEVEL CHARG OF HYPOCRISY. THE RIGHT SE THEM AS A STA NEED OF REMOVAL. THEY ALL GOT A SHOCK LATE LAST JULY WHEN FRANCIS MA HIS FIRST DIRECT PUBLIC STATEMENT ABOUT GAY CLERICS SCE BEG POPE.DURG AN IMPROMPTU PRS NFERENCE ABOARD THE PAPAL JET, EN ROUTE OM R JANEIRO TO ROME AFTER HIS FIRST OVERSEAS TRIP, FRANCIS WAS ASKED ABOUT THE SO-LLED GAY LOBBY. HIS RPONSE, LIVERED WH SUAL HUMOR AND PUNCTUATED BY SHGS AND S, WAS AS FOLLOWS: “SO MUCH HAS BEEN WRTEN ABOUT THE GAY LOBBY. I STILL HAVEN’T N TO ANYONE THE VATIN WHO HAS SHOWN ME AN INTY RD WH ‘GAY’ ON .” HE PANTOMIMED HOLDG UP SUCH A RD HIS LEFT HAND AND THEN WENT ON: “WHEN YOU FD YOURSELF WH A PERSON LIKE THAT, YOU HAVE TO DISTGUISH BETWEEN THE FACT OF A PERSON BEG GAY AND THE FACT OF SOMEBODY FORMG A LOBBY. . . . IF A PERSON IS GAY AND IS SEARCHG FOR THE LORD AND HAS GOODWILL, WHO AM I TO JUDGE HIM?”MOST POPULARTMP PLANS TO DEFEND HIMSELF AGAST ELECTN CHARG BY THROWG HIS LAWYERS UNR THE B: REPORTBY BS LEVEVERYTHG TO KNOW ABOUT ARIANA GRAN AND HER NEW BOYIEND, SPONGEBOB (ETHAN SLATER)BY KENZIE BRYANTVANY FAIR’S “IT’S RAG TEENS” COVER AT 20: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?BY SAVANNAH WALSHHE SPOKE THE WORDS WH A PALPABLE WARMTH, UNLIKE THE EMBATTLED, WARY TONE THAT OTHER POP HAVE ADOPTED. THIS MAY WELL HAVE BEEN THE FIRST TIME HISTORY THAT A POPE HAS PUBLICLY UTTERED THE TERM “GAY”—THE WORD THAT MOST MEN WHO FEEL ROMANTIC LOVE FOR OTHER MEN E TO SCRIBE THEMSELV—STEAD OF THE PATHOLOGIZG 19TH-CENTURY MEDIL TERM “HOMOSEXUAL.” THEN, A LENGTHY TERVIEW WH A JU JOURNAL, THE POPE WENT FURTHER, STATG THAT THE CHURCH’S MISTRY SHOULD NOT BE “OBSSED” WH A FEW DIVISIVE MORAL ISSU SUCH AS ABORTN AND GAY MARRIAGE. “WHEN GOD LOOKS AT A GAY PERSON, DO HE ENDORSE THE EXISTENCE OF THIS PERSON WH LOVE, OR REJECT AND NMN THIS PERSON?” THE POPE ASKED RHETORILLY. “WE MT ALWAYS NSIR THE PERSON.”EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELFTAL OF GAYS THE VATIN HAVE BEEN TOLD FOR MORE THAN A THOAND YEARS. POPE JOHN XII, WHO REIGNED OM 955 TO 964, WAS ACCED OF HAVG SEX WH MEN AND BOYS AND TURNG THE PAPAL PALACE “TO A WHOREHOE.” WHILE TRYG TO PERSUA A BBLER’S APPRENTICE TO HAVE SEX WH HIM, POPE BONIFACE VIII, WHO REIGNED OM 1294 TO 1303, WAS SAID TO HAVE ASSURED THE BOY THAT TWO MEN HAVG SEX WAS “NO MORE A S THAN BBG YOUR HANDS TOGETHER.” AFTER PL II, WHO REIGNED OM 1464 TO 1471, DIED OF A HEART ATTACK—WHILE FLAGRANTE LICTO WH A PAGE, ACRDG TO ONE MOR—HE WAS SUCCEED BY SIXT IV, WHO KEPT A NEPHEW AS HIS LOVER (AND MA THE NEPHEW A RDAL AT AGE 17). SOME SUCH STORI ARE BETTER SUBSTANTIATED THAN OTHERS. EVEN WHILE THEIR RELIABILY IS QUTNABLE, THEY MONSTRATE THAT PLAYG THE GAY RD (EVEN IF YOU YOURSELF ARE GAY) IS AN ANCIENT CURIAL TACTIC. “THERE ARE CLOSETED GAY PRITS WHO ARE VIPERS,” OBSERV THE THEOLOGIAN MARK D. JORDAN, THE THOR OF THE SILENCE OF SODOM: HOMOSEXUALY MORN CATHOLICISM. “THEY ARE REALLY POISONO PEOPLE, AND THEY WORK OUT THEIR OWN NER MONOLOGY BY GETTG TO POSNS POWER AND EXERCISG ” AGAST OTHER GAY MEN, WOMEN, AND ANYONE WHOM THEY PERCEIVE TO BE A THREAT. “ALONGSI THAT ARE SUFFERG PRITS WHO SEEM SCERE ALL THE WAY DOWN, WHO ARE TRYG TO BE FAHFUL TO GOD, AND ALSO TO TAKE RE OF PEOPLE AND CHANGE THE STUTN. THEY ARE THE ON WHO ARE ALWAYS FOTTEN, AND READ OUT OF THE STORY OM BOTH SIS.”THE CATHOLIC PRITHOOD’S NTEMPORARY GAY CULTURAL MEMORY BEGS THE MIDDLE OF THE LAST CENTURY. WHEN PL VI ASSUMED THE THRONE, 1963, BY ONE ACUNT HE TOOK HIS PAPAL NAME NOT OM ANY PRECSOR BUT OM A FORMER LOVER, A FILM ACTOR. THAT AT LEAST WAS THE NTENTN OF THE PROVOTIVE GAY FRENCH WRER ROGER PEYREFTE, WHOSE 1976 ALLEGATNS ABOUT PL VI ED SUCH A STIR THAT PL TOOK TO THE BALNY OF ST. PETER’S TO NOUNCE THE “HORRIBLE AND SLANRO” ACCATNS. PL LOOKED A LGHGSTOCK, AND THE CURIA LEARNED A LSON: BETTER TO IGNORE SUCH CHARG THAN TO AMPLIFY THEM BY NIAL.MEANWHILE, SOME GAY CLERICS WERE OUTGROWG THE “PARTICULAR IENDSHIPS” THAT HAD LONG BEEN PART OF MONASTIC LIFE AND JOG THE SEXUAL REVOLUTN. BY THE 1970S, THE CENTER OF GAY LIFE ROME WAS A CISG AREA LLED MONTE CAPRO, ON THE CAPOLE HILL. AT A SMALL PARTY OF GAY MONKS AND THEIR IENDS ROME LAST SUMMER, NVERSATN TURNED TO RELLECTNS OF THAT PLACE. “IT WAS LIKE S OWN LTLE CY,” ONE MONK REMEMBERED, “WH HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE—EVERYONE OM SEMARIANS TO BISHOPS—AND THEN THERE WERE, NVENIENTLY, BH OFF TO THE SI.” THE FELLOW FEELG AT MONTE CAPRO WAS PROMISED BY THE AIR OF SECRECY AROUND THE PLACE. THE AREA WAS A TARGET FOR MUGGERS AND THIEV, WHO FIGURED RIGHTLY THAT CLERICS WOULD MAKE IAL VICTIMS BEE THEY HAD MUCH TO LOSE BY THE PUBLIC ACT OF PRSG CHARG. ONE GAY FORMER SEMARIAN RELLED A NIGHT WHEN THREE MEN BEAT HIM UP AND STOLE HIS WALLET WHILE NUMERO MEN THE CROWD PARK STOOD BY. LEFT BLOODIED BY THE THIEV, THE SEMARIAN HOLLERED AT THE BYSTANRS, “THERE’S THREE OF THEM AND 300 OF !”HE TOLD ME THIS STORY, WH S ECHO OF THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARAN— WHICH A TRAVELER IS ROBBED, BEATEN, AND LEFT BY THE SI OF THE ROAD, AND P MEN DO NOTHG TO HELP HIM—TO ILLTRATE THE EVERY-MAN-FOR-HIMSELF DYNAMIC OF ROME’S GAY CLERIL CULTURE. GAY CLERICS OFTEN FAIL TO HELP ONE ANOTHER, HE SAYS, FOR THE SAME REASON THAT NO ONE TRIED TO HELP HIM THE NIGHT THAT HE WAS ROBBED: SOLIDARY ENTAILS THE RISK OF BEG OUTED.“LA MALETTA”SELF-CENTEREDNS N BREED A SENSE OF ENTLEMENT. “A CERTA PART OF THE CLERGY FEELS THAT NO ONE WILL RE WHAT THEY DO IF THEY ARE DISCREET,” SAYS MAR POLI, A PROMENT ITALIAN JOURNALIST AND LONGTIME VATIN RRPONNT, AND THE THOR OF SEVERAL BOOKS ABOUT THE PAPACY AND THE CHURCH. IN 2000, POLI PUBLISHED A BOOK-LENGTH TERVIEW WH AN ANONYMO GAY PRIT, ENTLED LA CONFSNE, REPUBLISHED 2006 AS IO, PRETE GAY (I, GAY PRIT). “RUMORS ARE O.K., BUT NOT SNDAL,” POLI OBSERV.THERE HAS BEEN PLENTY OF SNDAL, THOUGH. IN 2007, MONSIGNOR TOMMASO STENI MET A YOUNG MAN AN ONLE CHAT ROOM AND VED HIM TO HIS VATIN OFFICE, WHERE THEIR NVERSATN— WHICH STENI NIED THAT GAY SEX WAS A S, TOUCHED THE MAN’S LEG, AND SAID, “YOU’RE SO HOT”—WAS SECRETLY VIOTAPED AND THEN BROADST ON ITALIAN TELEVISN. (STENI TRIED TO PERSUA ITALIAN NEWSPAPERS THAT HE’D JT BEEN PLAYG ALONG ORR “TO STUDY HOW PRITS ARE ENSNARED” TO GAY SEX AS PART OF “A DIABOLIL PLAN BY GROUPS OF SATANISTS.” HE WAS SPEND OM HIS VATIN POSN.) IN 2006 A PRIT THE VATIN’S SECRETARIAT OF STATE JURED POLICE OFFICERS AND SMASHED TO POLICE RS DURG A HIGH-SPEED CHASE THROUGH A DISTRICT ROME KNOWN FOR TRANSSEXUALS AND PROSTUT. (THE PRIT WAS ACQUTED ON ALL CHARG AFTER CLAIMG THAT HE FLED BEE HE FEARED HE WAS BEG KIDNAPPED.) IN A 2010 VTIGATN OF NTRACT FIXG FOR NSTCTN PROJECTS, ITALIAN POLICE WIRETAPS HAPPENED TO TCH A PAPAL HER AND GENTLEMAN OF HIS HOLS, ANGELO BALDUCCI, ALLEGEDLY HIRG MALE PROSTUT, SOME OF WHOM MAY HAVE BEEN SEMARIANS, THROUGH A NIGERIAN MEMBER OF A VATIN CHOIR. (THE CHOIR MEMBER WAS DISMISSED; BALDUCCI WAS NVICTED ON RPTN CHARG.)POPE BENEDICT WAS MORED TO HAVE ORRED THAT PRELAT WHO WERE LIVG DOUBLE LIV BE RETIRED OR REMOVED OM ROME. MAR POLI SPECULAT THAT PERHAPS AS MANY AS 30 WERE EASED OUT. THE MOST SENR PRELATE TO LOSE HIS JOB WAS CARDAL KEH O’BRIEN, THE ARCHBISHOP OF ST. ANDREWS AND EDBURGH. A STNCH OPPONENT OF GAY MARRIAGE WHO HAD PUBLICLY LLED HOMOSEXUALY A “MORAL GRADATN,” O’BRIEN WAS BROUGHT DOWN FEBARY BY THREE PRITS AND ONE EX-PRIT WHO ACCED HIM OF “APPROPRIATE NTACT” AND PREDATORY BEHAVR WHEN HE WAS THEIR BISHOP. THE EPISOS REUNTED BY THE FOUR MEN VOLVED SUCH NSISTENT PATTERNS OVER MORE THAN 30 YEARS THAT SOME OF O’BRIEN’S LLEAGU SURELY MT HAVE HAD THEIR SPICNS. WHEN I ASKED ONE ARCHBISHOP IF HE HAD KNOWN THAT O’BRIEN WAS GAY, HOWEVER, THE ARCHBISHOP SAID HE HAD NOT. WHEN I ASKED THE ARCHBISHOP WHO AMONG THE OTHER RDALS WERE O’BRIEN’S CLOST IENDS, HE LDLY ANSWERED, “I DON’T THK HE HAD ANY.” EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF, ED.EVEN BENEDICT HAS BEEN DOGGED BY MORS THAT HE IS GAY. THOUGH NO SOLID EVINCE HAS EVER EMERGED, IS TREATED AS MON KNOWLEDGE BY MANY ROME, WHO CE STEREOTYP GALORE, CLUDG HIS FSY FASHN SENSE (HIS BY-RED SLIPPERS, HIS “VALENTO RED” P); HIS CSA TO NAIL DOWN WHY “HOMOSEXUAL ACTNS” ARE “TRSILLY DISORRED” (MANY CLOSETED GAY MEN, OM ROY COHN TO CARDAL O’BRIEN, HAVE MA THE MOST EXTRAORDARY EFFORTS TO NMN HOMOSEXUALY); AND HIS BROMANCE WH ARCHBISHOP GE GäNSWE, HIS LONGTIME PERSONAL SECRETARY. (NICKNAMED BEL GRG, OR “GEO GEE,” THE GGED GäNSWE SKIS, PLAYS TENNIS, AND PILOTS AIRPLAN. HE SPIRED DONATELLA VERSACE’S WTER 2007 “CLERGYMAN LLECTN.”) PERHAPS THE MOST VIC OF BENEDICT’S NICKNAM IS “LA MALETTA.” THE WORD MEANS “CURSED” ITALIAN, BUT THE PUN RIV OM THE FACT THAT THE TERM MEANS THE EXACT OPPOSE OF BENEDICT’S OWN NAME ITALIAN, BENETTO, WHICH MEANS “BLSED”—WH A GENR CHANGE ACHIEVED THE PROCS.NEHER BENEDICT NOR GäNSWE HAS PUBLICLY RPOND TO ANY OF THIS. THE CHATTER’S MA NSEQUENCE HAS BEEN NOT TO HURT THEM PERSONALLY (THOUGH SURELY MT, AT LEAST A LTLE) BUT TO HELP LOCK DOWN GENUE NVERSATN ABOUT THE EVERYDAY LIV OF GAY PRITS, WHETHER CELIBATE OR NOT. IT IS MORE OR LS IMPOSSIBLE FOR GAY CLERICS TO ARTICULATE THEIR AFFECTNS ANY WAY THAT DO NOT AMOUNT TO WHAT AN ANGLO-SAXON MD MIGHT SEE AS HYPOCRISY. YET SUCH A DUALISTIC EXISTENCE IS VERY MUCH A PART OF CHURCH TRADN. “THIS IS ALMOST AN ASPECT OF THE CATHOLIC RELIGN SELF,” COLM TóIBíN HAS WRTEN AN SAY ON GAYS AND CATHOLICISM, “THIS BS OF KNOWG AND NOT KNOWG SOMETHG ALL AT THE SAME TIME, KEEPG AN ILLN SEPARATE OM THE TTH.” IT IS ALSO TYPIL OF ITALIAN SEXUALY GENERAL, AND ITALIAN HOMOSEXUALY PARTICULAR. THIS IS THE UNTRY THAT TOLERATED THE SEXUAL PAS AND SERIAL DS OF FORMER PRIME MISTER SILV BERLNI WH SRCELY A HT OF PROTT OM THE HIERARCHY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. THIS IS THE UNTRY WHERE UNTLS MARRIED WOMEN IGNORE THEIR HBANDS’ DALLIANC WH MEN.LA BELLA FIGURATHE CULTURE OF CEPTN OPERAT ACRDG TO SIGNALS AND NVENTNS BY WHICH GAY CLERICS NAVIGATE THEIR LIV. CAMP IS PERHAPS THE MOST POWERFUL AND PERVASIVE OF THE S, THOUGH N BE DIFFICULT TO FE. IRONIC, EFFEMATE SELF-MOCKERY—ALLOWG PRITS TO EXERCISE SOME LIMED REBELLN AGAST THEIR OWN ISOLATN AND VISIBILY—IS ONE FORM OF CLERIL MP. FOR FEAR OF LGHG OUT LOUD, PRITS SOMETIM TRY TO AVOID MAKG EYE NTACT WH ONE ANOTHER CHURCH WHEN HYMNS WH TL LIKE “HAIL, HOLY QUEEN” ARE SUNG. AFTER BERGOGL BEME POPE FRANCIS, YOUTUBE CLIPS OF A SEQUENCE OM FELLI’S ROMA WENT VIRAL AMONG GAY PRITS ROME. IT SHOWS A PLA-LOOKG RDAL WATCHG A NWAY SHOW OF OVER-THE-TOP CLERIL ATTIRE—WHICH ENDS WHEN THE PARTED POPE STEALS THE SHOW BY APPEARG THE GLOR GARB OF A SUN GOD.ONE GAY FORMER PRIT, WHO STILL LIV ROME, SCRIB CLERIL MP AS “A NATURAL WAY OF EXPRSG [GAY INTY] WHILE CELIBATE.” SOCIALLY, HE SAYS, IS “A KEY THAT UNLOCKS A FURTHER ELEMENT OF TST.” THERE’S NOTHG EARTH-SHATTERG ABOUT THIS—’S WHAT EVERY STUTN DO—BUT “THE CHURCH HAS A LOT MORE EXPERIENCE AND PRACTICE AT PROTECTG SELF. AS FAR AS THAT GO,” HE SAYS, WH A NOD TO COLE PORTER, “THEY’RE THE TOPS.”WHEN THIS FORMER PRIT BEGAN HIS TN ROME, A PROFSOR TOLD HIM, “THERE SHOULDN’T BE A SUBCULTURE. WE ARE ALL MALE HERE, SO ’S APPROPRIATE TO SAY ‘HER’ OR TO REFER TO OTHER MEN WH FEME PRONOUNS.” THE FORMER PRIT SAYS THAT “NONE OF THIS STCTN WAS ABOUT OUR BEHAVR. IT WAS ABOUT HOW WE SHOULD APPEAR.” HE BELIEV THAT SUCH STCTN ILLTRAT A LTLE-NOTED CHANGE OFFICIAL THKG ABOUT CATHOLIC INTY, AND WHAT SHOULD BE AT S CENTER. “THE SYMBOLS OF THE CHURCH SHOULD BE THE SACRAMENTS,” SUCH AS THE EUCHARIST, HE ARGU, BUT OVER TIME THE PEOPLE WHO ADMISTER THE SACRAMENTS HAVE E TO DISPLACE THEM PROMENCE. IN OTHER WORDS, “THE PRITS BEE THE SYMBOLS” THAT ARE EMED MOST IMPORTANT. WHICH TURN PUTS A PREMIUM ON OUTWARD APPEARANCE AND ENFORC NFORMY TO A CERTA OFFICIAL IAL. THE CHURCH, THEREFORE, IS CREASGLY PREOCCUPIED WH MAKG SURE S LEARS ARE GROOMED OM AMONG “BOYS WHO LOOK HOLY: PLAYG DRS-UP AT THE AMERIN COLLEGE AND GOG DOWN TO PIAZZA NAVONA AT NE P.M. TO SAY THEIR BREVIARI.” SACRAMENTS AND LURGY, THE FORMER PRIT SAYS, ARE “THE KERNEL OF WHAT MAK THE CHURCH IMPORTANT. THIS IS WHAT MAK POWERFUL. NOT THE PROTECTN OF MEDIEVAL STUTNS.”YET THE CHURCH, AS ITALIAN SOCIETY, ’S OFTEN THE SE THAT RIGHT APPEARANCE—LA BELLA FIGURA—IS ALL. IN EVERY TAIL, PARTI CELEBRATG APPOTMENT TO THE VATIN AND OTHER HIGH CHURCH OFFIC N BE LAVISH—“LIKE A POSH GIRL’S WEDDG”—WH MANY CLERICS ATTENDANCE BEG “GAY MEN WEARG EVERYTHG HANDMA, PERFECT, QUEER AS ,” OBSERV ONE PROMENT FIGURE THE ROMAN ART WORLD. BUT LA BELLA FIGURA MATTERS JT AS MUCH AT ORDARY MOMENTS. ESPECIALLY FOR CLERICS WHO BREAK THE VOW OF CELIBACY, IS CCIAL TO KEEP UP APPEARANC THE NORMAL URSE OF LIFE.GAY SNAS ARE GOOD PLAC TO MEET OTHER GAY PRITS AND MONKS. THE BT TIM TO FD CLERICS AT THE SNAS ARE LATE AFTERNOON OR EVENG ON THURSDAYS (WHEN PONTIFIL UNIVERSI HAVE NO CLASS) OR SUNDAYS (AFTER MASS). SOME GAY CELIBATE CLERICS E THE SNAS NOT FOR SEX BUT TO EXPERIENCE A SENSE OF FELLOWSHIP WH OTHERS LIKE THEMSELV. ONE LLS HIS SNA VISS “SOMETHG TO NFIRM MYSELF AS I AM.” (ROME HAS FEW GAY BARS, AND JOHN MOSS, THE AMERIN OWNER OF THE LARGT AND OLST ONE, THE HANGAR, SAYS THAT THE RISE OF INTER CISG, BED WH THE VATIN’S CRACKDOWN ON GAY PRITS, HAS CIMATED HIS GAY CLERIL CLIENTELE. “THERE ED TO BE SO MANY SEMARIANS—SUCH BETIFUL MEN—WHO ME TO THE BAR, AND WE WOULD EVEN GET HIRED TO TAKE PARTI TO THEM SOME OF THE RELIG HO. NOW THERE’S NOBODY.”)ONCE YOU MAKE A NNECTN, ’S POSSIBLE TO E YOUR MONASTERY CELL FOR SEXUAL ASSIGNATNS, AS LONG AS YOU DON’T MAKE MUCH NOISE. “YOU N SNEAK PEOPLE , NO PROBLEM,” ONE GAY MONK SAYS, “BUT TRY TO AVOID NSISTENT PATTERNS OF MOVEMENT.” IN OTHER WORDS, DON’T VE A GUY OVER ON THE SAME DAY OF THE WEEK, OR AT THE SAME TIME OF DAY, VERY OFTEN. THAT SAID, “NO ONE HAS SEX” WH OTHER RINTS OF HIS OWN MONASTERY, A FORMER MONK TOLD ME, “BEE IS LIKE A BIG BROTHER HOE. EVERYONE KNOWS EVERYTHG.”THE MORE SENR THE CLERIC, THE MORE LIKELY HE MAY BE TO PLAY LOOSE WH THE L. ONE LEADG VATIN REPORTER (WHO SAYS THAT, AMONG JOURNALISTS ON THE BEAT, THE TWO MOST MON TOPICS FOR GOSSIP ABOUT CHURCH OFFICIALS ARE “WHO’S GAY AND WHO’S ON THE TAKE”) SCRIB THE LOGIC OF SUCH BEHAVR. “EVERYTHG IS PERMTED BEE YOU ARE A PRCE OF THE URT,” HE SAYS. “IF YOU ARE TLY LOYAL AND ENTSTED WH THE HIGHT LEVEL OF RPONSIBILY, THERE HAS TO BE AN EXTRA LIBERTY ATTACHED ORR TO BE ABLE TO PULL OFF.”VOWS OF CELIBACY DON’T SAY ANYTHG ABOUT EYE NDY. SOME CURIA OFFICIALS ARE SAID TO HANDPICK EXTREMELY HANDSOME MEN FOR MENIAL JOBS ORR TO MAKE VATIN CY MORE SCENIC. A LAYMAN I KNOW WHOSE JOB REQUIR EQUENT TRIPS TO THE VATIN ED TO ENJOY FLIRTG WH A MCULAR GO-GO BOY WHO DANCED ON THE BAR AT A GAY NIGHTCLUB ROME. ONE DAY AT THE VATIN, THIS LAYMAN WAS AMAZED TO SEE THE DANCER OUT OF NTEXT, DRSED THE UNIFORM OF A SECURY GUARD. WHEN HE MA TO GREET THE MAN, THE GUARD SIGNALED HIM TO STAY BACK, RAISG A FGER TO HIS LIPS A QUIET “SHHHHH … ”WHERE SILENCE N’T STRICTLY BE KEPT, WORD GAM N PARTMENTALIZE THE TTH. IN THE VATIN OFFICE OF A MONSIGNOR WHO I’D BEEN TOLD MIGHT HAVE SOME FIRSTHAND KNOWLEDGE NCERNG RECENT GAY SNDALS THE CHURCH, I ASKED, POT-BLANK, “ARE YOU GAY?,” AND HE SERENELY ANSWERED, “NO.” I REPLIED, “I WONR, IF A PRIT IS HOMOSEXUAL—BUT DO NOT PARTICIPATE MASTREAM SECULAR GAY CULTURE—ULD HE SAY THAT HE IS NOT ‘GAY’ AND STILL THK HE’S TELLG THE TTH?” “WHAT AN TERTG QUTN,” THE MONSIGNOR SAID, IMMEDIATELY STANDG UP AND GTURG ME TO THE DOOR. “I’M AAID I DON’T HAVE ANY MORE TIME TO TALK.” HE SISTED ON PERSONALLY WALKG ME OUT OF THE BUILDG, AND AS WE PASSED ALONG A GRAND HALLWAY I REMARKED UPON S BETY. “I DON’T SEE ,” HE REPLIED ARCHLY. “TO ME, OTHER HALLWAYS ARE ‘BETIFUL.’ ” WAS THIS AN NOCENT REMARK, OR A D ANSWER TO MY QUTN? SOMETIM TALKG TO GAY PRITS FEELS LIKE READG STORI BY B.FOR THOSE WHO WANT , ANIZED WORKS N PROVI SOME GROUNDG. A FEW SMALL GROUPS OF GAY CATHOLICS ROME OPERATE PUBLICLY, BUT BEE ANYONE N E TO THEIR MEETGS, N BE RISKY FOR PRITS, PECIALLY VATIN OFFICIALS, TO BE PART OF THEM. ONE PRIVATE GROUP OF ABOUT 50 GAY PRITS AND LAYMEN MEETS ONCE A YEAR, FOR A KD OF RETREAT. A VATIN PRIT I MET WH—HE ACTUALLY VED ME TO STOP BY HIS OFFICE NEAR ST. PETER’S BEE HE SAID HE WANTED “TO SHOW THAT THIS IS NO SECRET,” THOUGH ’S SECRET ENOUGH THAT HE N’T BE NAMED—IS VOLVED WH THIS GROUP, AS PART OF AN UNOFFICIAL MISTRY ADDN TO HIS OFFICIAL DUTI. HE SAYS THAT HIS SUPERRS, CLUDG AT LEAST ONE VERY PROMENT VATIN OFFICIAL, HAVE LONG KNOWN HE IS GAY, AND HAVE EVEN PROMOTED HIM SCE LEARNG THAT FACT.YET GAYS THE VATIN, LIKE SPI TELLIGENCE SERVIC, HAB BOX WH BOX. THE PRIT WHO HELPS WH THE GROUP OF 50 RAISED HIS EYEBROWS WHEN I REPEATED TO HIM SOMETHG AN ARCHBISHOP HAD TOLD ME. “I KNOW A PRIT WHO MISTERS TO PEOPLE THE CURIA THAT SUATN,” THE ARCHBISHOP SAID, THOUGH “HE IS NOT ASSIGNED OFFICIALLY.”MOST POPULARTMP PLANS TO DEFEND HIMSELF AGAST ELECTN CHARG BY THROWG HIS LAWYERS UNR THE B: REPORTBY BS LEVEVERYTHG TO KNOW ABOUT ARIANA GRAN AND HER NEW BOYIEND, SPONGEBOB (ETHAN SLATER)BY KENZIE BRYANTVANY FAIR’S “IT’S RAG TEENS” COVER AT 20: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?BY SAVANNAH WALSH“THAT IS NOT ME,” THE PRIT SAID, AMAZED. “I WONR WHO ULD BE.”DON’T ASK, DON’T TELLAS YOU WOULD EXPECT, THE PRIT I MET THE SNA LOOKS RATHER DIFFERENT WH VTMENTS ON. WHEN I WALKED TO CHURCH A FEW DAYS LATER, FOR SUNDAY-MORNG MASS, HE WAS THE CELEBRANT—EVEN THOUGH, WHEN WE MET, HE HAD SAID HE WAS ABOUT TO LEAVE TOWN. MAYBE HIS PLANS HAD CHANGED AGA.HE WAS PREACHG A HOY ON THE GOSPEL READG, THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARAN. THE PRIT TOLD THE NGREGATN THAT THIS STORY WAS A CHALLENGE. A CHALLENGE TO ACCEPT “RISK FAVOR OF PASSN.” A CHALLENGE TO “LOOK MORE EPLY AT ‘WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?’ ” A CHALLENGE TO BE GENERO, UNLIKE “THE RELIG, SPIRUAL PERSON WHO DID NOTHG TO HELP.” LISTENG TO THE WORDS, I ULD NOT HELP BUT WONR: WHERE, THAT PARABLE, DO THIS PRIT SEE HIMSELF?FROM THE DAY AFTER THE NCLAVE END—WHEN FRANCIS WENT BACK TO HIS HOTEL AND PERSONALLY CHECKED OUT, PAID HIS BILL, AND PICKED UP HIS SUSE—THE NEW POPE HAS SURPRISED PEOPLE WH HIS ACTNS. DURG HOLY WEEK, HE WENT TO A JUVENILE PRISON AND WASHED THE FEET OF MAT, CLUDG TWO GIRLS AND TWO MLIMS. ONE MORNG, HE REPORTEDLY MA A SANDWICH FOR THE SWISS GUARD WHO HAD STOOD SENTEL OUTSI HIS ROOM ALL NIGHT. HE VED 200 HOMELS PEOPLE FOR DNER THE VATIN GARNS.FRANCIS HAS ALSO SAID SOME THGS THAT, OM A POPE’S MOUTH, SEEM EXTRAORDARY SIMPLY BEE THEY ARE SO DOWN TO EARTH—LIKE HIS CHOICE TO END ONE HOY WH THE UNTRADNAL EXHORTATN “HAVE A GOOD LUNCH!” YET THE FIRST TIME THIS POPE’S WORDS, RATHER THAN HIS ACTNS, MA SIGNIFINT HEADL WAS NNECTN WH HIS MENTS ABOUT THE “GAY LOBBY.”AS NOTED, THE PHRASE FIRST GAED CURRENCY BEFORE FRANCIS ME ON THE SCENE, BUT RETURNED TO PUBLIC DISCSN JT AS HE GOT SER ABOUT WHAT MAY BE A HALLMARK OF HIS PAPACY: A CLEANUP OF VATIN RPTN. THE SPE OF HIS NCERN ABOUT ABE OF POWER SEEMS TOTAL. HE IS REFORMG EVERYTHG OM THE VATIN BANK’S BOOKKEEPG TO THE NTENTS OF THE PAPAL WARDROBE.FOR A LONG TIME, GAY PRITS HAVE MA FOR NVENIENT SPEGOATS AND HANDY PAWNS CHURCH POWER GAM. ALL OF THEM, WHETHER ACTIVELY OR PASSIVELY, HAVE HELPED CREATE THE ROL FOR THEMSELV, AND THEY N HARDLY IMAGE A DIFFERENT REALY—UNLS THEY WERE TO EMERGE OM THE CLOSET AND GET THROWN OUT OF THE PRITHOOD. ONE MONK TOLD ME, “A LOT OF WILL NOT NMN. BUT NOT SPEAK OUT. WE’RE A SYSTEM THAT NTROLS . THE LONGER YOU’RE , THE MORE NTROLS, THE MORE YOU ASSUME THE CLERIL POSN.” THEY KEEP HOPE SMALL, OR SNUFF ENTIRELY. THEY BELIEVE THAT NOTHG AND NO ONE ULD MAKE THE CHURCH SAFE FOR THEM. MIGHT THIS CHANGE? “NOT MY LIFETIME,” THEY ALL SAY.YET, BEFORE HE BEME FRANCIS, JE BERGOGL WAS A JU. AS *NATNAL CATHOLIC REPORTER’*S JOHN ALLEN, THE AN OF THE AMERIN VATIN-WATCHERS, TOLD ME, “THERE’S A KD OF CATHOLIC VERSN OF ‘DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL’ THAT THE JUS WOULD BE PARTICULARLY NOTED FOR. THERE ARE GUYS THE JU WORLD THAT EVERYBODY KNOWS ARE GAY, BUT THEY DON’T GO AROUND MAKG A BIG AL OUT OF .” WHILE POPE BENEDICT’S VATIN ATTEMPTED TO MAKE SURE GAYS KNEW THEY WERE UNWELE THE PRITHOOD, THE JUS VELOPED A REPUTATN FOR TOLERATG AND EVEN PROTECTG THEIR GAY BRETHREN.IN THE LLEGIAL JU SPIR, FRANCIS APPOTED EIGHT RDALS TO SERVE AS HIS RE ADVISERS ON SIGNIFINT ISSU, AND THE G YEARS, THIS GROUP MAY HAVE AS MUCH FLUENCE ON THE SUATN OF GAYS THE PRITHOOD AS FRANCIS HIMSELF. WHEN I ASKED AN ARCHBISHOP HOW HE THKS THE RDALS’ NVERSATN ABOUT THEIR GAY BROTHERS WILL GO, HE ANSWERED WH REFERENCE NOT TO THE HOLY SPIR BUT TO THE GOD OF FORTUNE. “RIGHT NOW THE SURT THG I N SAY IS THAT THERE’S CHANGE THE AIR,” HE SAID. “IF YOU ULD SAY WHAT WILL HAPPEN, YOU ULD SAY WHO’D W THE LOTTERY.”THE NEXT TIME I HEARD MENTN OF A LOTTERY WAS A FEW DAYS LATER, AT DNER WH A GAY MONK WHO TOLD ME THAT HE HAD RECENTLY FALLEN LOVE FOR THE FIRST TIME, WH A MAN. “AM I A CLERIL HYPOCRE? I GUS ONE WAY I AM,” HE SAID, THE MIDDLE OF A LONG AND EMOTNAL NARRATIVE, BEFORE BRGG THE NVERSATN TO BEDROCK REALY. “BUT I’M OVER 60. I HAVE NOTHG FANCIALLY. I N’T LEAVE.” AND THEN HE SAID, “IF I WON THE POWERBALL LOTTO, I WOULD LEAVE.”NOTE: AN ALTERATN WAS MA THE PASSAGE ABOUT MAR POLI’S LA CONFSNE, REPUBLISHED AS IO, PRETE GAY, ORR TO GIVE A MORE ACCURATE SCRIPTN OF THE BOOK.MICHAEL JOSEPH GROSS

Relig watchers said the leaks about Ric's past may be an ternal attempt to block the prelate om rryg out June, Francis admted the existence of a "gay lobby" si the Vatin's secretive admistratn, the Roman Curia. There is talk of a 'gay lobby' and 's te, exists, " he was quoted as havg said durg an dience wh CLAR (the Lat Amerin and Caribbean Conferatn of Relig Men and Women) admissn followed Italian media reports Febary which claimed that a secret report by rdals vtigatg leaks om wh the Vatin clud allegatns of rptn and blackmail attempts agast gay clergymen, and on the other hand, favourism based on gay the allegatns are proven to be te, would be a blow to Francis's attempts to clean up the sndal-h Vatin.

This may well have been the first time history that a Pope has publicly uttered the term “gay”—the word that most men who feel romantic love for other men e to scribe themselv—stead of the pathologizg 19th-century medil term “homosexual. ”He told me this story, wh s echo of the parable of the Good Samaran— which a traveler is robbed, beaten, and left by the si of the road, and p men do nothg to help him—to illtrate the every-man-for-himself dynamic of Rome’s gay cleril culture. In 2007, Monsignor Tommaso Steni met a young man an onle chat room and ved him to his Vatin office, where their nversatn— which Steni nied that gay sex was a s, touched the man’s leg, and said, “You’re so hot”—was secretly viotaped and then broadst on Italian televisn.

A stnch opponent of gay marriage who had publicly lled homosexualy a “moral gradatn, ” O’Brien was brought down Febary by three prits and one ex-prit who acced him of “appropriate ntact” and predatory behavr when he was their bishop.

SEX PARTI, DGS AND GAY ESRTS AT THE POPE'S RINCE: UNRVER THE VATIN

Though no solid evince has ever emerged, is treated as mon knowledge by many Rome, who ce stereotyp galore, cludg his fsy fashn sense (his by-red slippers, his “Valento red” p); his csa to nail down why “homosexual actns” are “trsilly disorred” (many closeted gay men, om Roy Cohn to Cardal O’Brien, have ma the most extraordary efforts to nmn homosexualy); and his bromance wh Archbishop Ge Gänswe, his longtime personal secretary. The chatter’s ma nsequence has been not to hurt them personally (though surely mt, at least a ltle) but to help lock down genue nversatn about the everyday liv of gay prits, whether celibate or not.

“This is almost an aspect of the Catholic relign self, ” Colm Tóibín has wrten an say on gays and Catholicism, “this bs of knowg and not knowg somethg all at the same time, keepg an illn separate om the tth. It shows a pla-lookg rdal watchg a nway show of over-the-top cleril attire—which ends when the parted Pope steals the show by appearg the glor garb of a Sun gay former prit, who still liv Rome, scrib cleril mp as “a natural way of exprsg [gay inty] while celibate. In every tail, parti celebratg appotment to the Vatin and other high Church offic n be lavish—“like a posh girl’s weddg”—wh many clerics attendance beg “gay men wearg everythg handma, perfect, queer as , ” observ one proment figure the Roman art world.

” (Rome has few gay bars, and John Moss, the Amerin owner of the largt and olst one, the Hangar, says that the rise of Inter cisg, bed wh the Vatin’s crackdown on gay prits, has cimated his gay cleril clientele.

FOUR FIVE VATIN PRITS ARE GAY, BOOK CLAIMS

One leadg Vatin reporter (who says that, among journalists on the beat, the two most mon topics for gossip about Church officials are “who’s gay and who’s on the take”) scrib the logic of such behavr.

'GAY ROMANCE' WH SWISS SOLDIER SHOCKS VATIN

He says that his superrs, cludg at least one very proment Vatin official, have long known he is gay, and have even promoted him sce learng that gays the Vatin, like spi telligence servic, hab box wh box. On the ntrary: They ny self-fense, protect each another’s sexual licentns, llaborate wh reactnary regim around the world, persecute homosexuals and csantly preach agast what’s nsired sexual permissivens – cludg total rejectn of the e of ntraceptiv and vigoro antagonism to abortn. Martel: “On the face of , we all know, or at least n njecture, that the Catholic Church, and particular those the senr posns of s hierarchy, is a paradise for gays, for the simple reason that prits are mand to be chaste and are forbidn to take wiv.

“In the Closet of the Vatin” is actually a ntuatn, perhaps at a more sophistited level both terms of tail and style wrg, of his first book, “The Pk and the Black, Homosexuals France Sce 1968, ” which ed a storm on s publitn France 1996.

RETIRED SWISS GUARD MANR NFIRMS EXISTENCE OF VATIN’S ‘GAY LOBBY’

Thoughts I already had were nfirmed when I read “The Pk and the Black, ” and were subsequently clud my 1999 Hebrew-language novel “Ziffer and His Kd”: namely, that gays are not more “sensive” or more “affable” or more “peace lovg” or more “art lovg” or more “nattily drsed” than others. Cred: Gieppe Lami/APMartel: “When Ratzger grasped that Europe was no longer buyg the Church’s nservative and homophobic views, and that the enlightened Wt as a whole was movg toward permtg gay marriag, he ma a mistake and beiend the worst of the dictatorships, cludg nservative Mlim untri that persecute gays.

Backed by ttimoni of high-level figur the Vatin who acpanied the pope on the journey, and offerg a vivid, ncrete scriptn, the chapter ptur the spair that seized the pope when he grasped the sle of the homosexual prostutn and the pedophilia wh the ranks of the Church there. ” Bee, jt as the origal Sodom, the prime s was not homosexualy but a general rptn of moral standards that uld not be remedied other than by the place beg stroyed down to s very foundatns – so, too, perhaps, his outlook on the Vatin: a place rife wh homosexual activy but where homosexualy self is not the re of the problem.

VATIN MURR MYSTERY: WAS IT A GAY LOVE TRIANGLE?BARBIE LATZA NA ON THE MURR OF THE POPE’S BODYGUARD—AND THE POSSIBLE GAY LOVE TRIANGLE THAT TRIGGERED .BARBIE LATZA NAUPDATED JUL. 13, 2017 11:08PM EDT AP PHOTOON MAY 4, 1998, FIVE SHOTS RANG OUT SI A PRIVATE APARTMENT TUCKED WH THE FORTIFIED WALLS OF VATIN CY ROME. DEAD WERE ALOIS ESTERMANN, THE NEWLY APPOTED MANR OF THE ELE SWISS GUARD ARMY THAT PROTECTS THE POPE; ESTERMANN’S VENEZUELAN WIFE, GLADYS MEZA ROMERO, A FORMER MOL; AND CEDRIC TORNAY, WHO WAS A RPORAL THE SWISS GUARD. NO ONE HEARD THE SHOTS, ACRDG TO NEIGHBORS WHO WERE TERVIEWED AFTER THE MURRS, BUT THE THREE BODI WERE ENOUGH PROOF TO SOLVE THE CRIME, AT LEAST ACRDG TO THE VATIN. THE HOLY SEE’S OFFICIAL LE WAS THAT RPORAL TORNAY HAD KILLED ESTERMANN AND HIS WIFE BEFORE PUTTG HIS 7MM PISTOL TO HIS MOUTH AND BLOWG HIS BRAS OUT. THE MOTIVE WAS SIMPLE, THEY SAID. TORNAY HAD BEEN PASSED UP BY ESTERMANN FOR A PROMOTN AND ULD NOT NTA HIS RAGE. BUT THE TTH BEHD THE VATIN’S SWISS GUARD MURRS IS FAR MORE PLEX, SAYS TORNAY’S MOTHER, MUGUETTE BDAT. EARLIER THIS MONTH SHE PLEAD TO POPE BENEDICT XVI TO REOPEN THE SE AND CLEAR HER SON’S NAME. IN A BRIEF TERVIEW WH THE DAILY BEAST, SHE SAYS HER SON WAS THE VICTIM OF A VER-UP, NOT THE PERPETRATOR OF A MURR-SUICI. “MY SON IS NOT THE MAN BEHD SUCH A MURR,” SHE SAID. “HE WAS NOT CRAZY AND VENGEFUL. HE WAS ACTUALLY A VICTIM THIS CRIME.”BDAT HAS WRTEN A LETTER TO THE CURRENT POPE THE HOPE HE WILL REOPEN THE SE. SHE BELIEV THAT BEE BENEDICT WAS A KEY ADMISTRATOR THE VATIN HIERARCHY DURG HER SON’S MURR VTIGATN, HE MAY BE WILLG TO REVTIGATE THE SE FOR THE SAKE OF TRANSPARENCY. “HE MIGHT WANT CLEAR HIS NSCIENCE,” SHE SAYS. “IT WOULD BE THE RIGHT THG TO DO.”WHEN HAPPENED, THE SWISS GUARD MURR SHOOK ROME TO S RE. BEE VATIN CY IS A SOVEREIGN NATN, HAS S OWN POLICE AND VTIGATIVE UNS. THE POPE IS THE HEAD OF STATE, AND NO ONE THE PAPAL ADMISTRATN HAS TO ANSWER TO ANYONE OUTSI THE VATIN WALLS—EVEN THOUGH THE TY NATN IS TUCKED SI THE CY OF ROME. SECRECY SHROUD THE SE OM THE MOMENT THE NEWS BROKE. IN THE HOURS AFTER A VATIN SIR LEAKED THE NEWS OF A MURR, LOL ITALIAN JOURNALISTS SPECULATED THAT THEN–POPE JOHN PL II HIMSELF HAD BEEN THE VICTIM OF A GUNMAN’S WRATH. IT TOOK NEARLY 24 HOURS FOR THE VATIN TO CLARIFY THAT HAD BEEN THE HEAD OF THE POPE’S PROTECTIVE ARM WHO HAD BEEN KILLED A MURR-SUICI AND NOT THE POPE HIMSELF. IN THE YEARS THAT FOLLOWED, REPORTERS FOLLOWED SEVERAL LEADS A YET- UNSOLVED QUT FOR THE TTH ABOUT WHAT MAY HAVE REALLY HAPPENED THAT NIGHT. SEVERAL BOOKS HAVE BEEN PENNED ABOUT THE SE, BUT NONE SO FAR HAVE TLY SOLVED THE CRIME. IT WAS NO SECRET WH THE SWISS GUARD THAT ESTERMANN WAS A BISEXUAL WHO HAD A WEAKNS FOR YOUNG RECS AND HAD ALLEGEDLY JT END A SEXUAL RELATNSHIP WH TORNAY, WHO WAS 23 AT THE TIME. ONE THEORY IS THAT WHEN ESTERMANN TURNED HIS AFFECTNS TO ANOTHER YOUNG REC, TORNAY ALLEGEDLY LOST HIS TEMPER AND KILLED ESTERMANN AND HIS WIFE A JEALO RAGE. IN A BOOK ON THE SE LLED VERBUM DEI ET VERBUM GAY ("GOD'S WORD, GAY WORD"), THOR MASSIMO LACCHEI WR THAT THE DAYS BEFORE THE MURRS, HE HAD OBSERVED ESTERMANN AND TORNAY AT WHAT HE SCRIB AS A GAY BNCH AND HAD LATER TERVIEWED TORNAY, WHO HE SAID WAS CLEARLY ATTACHED TO HIS SUPERR. HE SAYS, ''THEY WERE SO TIMATE AND IENDLY FOR A SUBORDATE AND A PTA.”ANOTHER THEORY IS THAT ESTERMANN WAS AT THE RE OF A POWER STGGLE WH THE SWISS GUARD SELF. ON ONE SI WAS THE üBER-NSERVATIVE OP DEI MOVEMENT, AND ON THE OTHER A MASONIC SECT WH GROWG STRENGTH WH THE ELE GUARD. ESTERMANN, WHO WAS APPOTED AS THE GUARDS’ NEW MANR JT HOURS BEFORE HE WAS MURRED, WAS UGHT THE MIDDLE, ACRDG TO A BOOK LLED BLOOD LI THE VATIN, WRTEN BY ANONYMO THORS WHO CLAIM TO BE PRITS AND SIRS WHO LIVE SI THE VATIN WALLS. THEY MATA THAT TORNAY WAS ATTACKED AND DRAGGED TO THE VATIN CELLAR, WHERE HE WAS “SUICID” BY MANDOS AND THEN LATER PLACED ESTERMANN’S APARTMENT AFTER THE REAL ASSAILANTS DID THEIR DIRTY WORK. THEY NCLU, “THE ELEMENT THAT UNRM THE OFFICIAL TTH IS THE FACT THAT NO ONE HEARD THE FIVE LOUD SHOTS FIRED BY THE POWERFUL PISTOL FOUND UNR CEDRIC TORNAY’S BODY.”TORNAY’S MOTHER BELIEV THE SEND THEORY MORE THAN THE FIRST, BUT KNOWS THE TTH ULD LIE SOMEWHERE THE MIDDLE. SHE SAYS HER SON WAS THE PAWN OF MORE POWERFUL ENTI AND GOT UGHT THE CROSSFIRE A SUATN HE LIKELY KNEW NOTHG ABOUT. SHE NI HER SON’S HOMOSEXUAL AFFAIR WH HIS BOSS, BUT NCES THAT HE MAY HAVE BEEN TOO TSTG AND THEREFORE EASILY TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF. EHER WAY, SHE IS TERMED TO FD THE TTH ABOUT HER SON.POPE BENEDICT XVI HAS NOT YET RPOND OFFICIALLY TO TORNAY'S MOTHER’S LETTER. HER LAWYER LUC BROSSOLLET SAYS SHE WILL NOT LET GO. “THE SE IS FULL OF SUPPRSED EVINCE, NTRADICTNS, AND LI,” HE SAID RECENTLY. “IT’S TIME TO FD THE SHAMEFUL TTH.” BARBIE LATZA NA

Unlike the fate of the biblil Sodom, Martel fore, wh appropriate utn, the possibily of repair unr the le of the prent pope, Francis, who for the first time has refed to surrenr to the Church’s tradnal homophobic approach. 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.

VATIN’S POPE-PROTECTG SWISS GUARDS ACCED OF SECRET GAY LOBBYACCATNS ARE SWIRLG ABOUT A SECRET GAY BAL SI THE VATIN'S POPE-PROTECTG FORC AND HOW MUCH KNEW ABOUT THE PARTURE OF POPE BENEDICT.BARBIE LATZA NAUPDATED APR. 14, 2017 1:05PM EDT FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP/GETTYFOR MORE THAN A YEAR NOW, THERE HAS BEEN AMPLE TALK AROUND ROME ABOUT A POWERFUL GAY LOBBY AT WORK SI THE VATIN. WHEN POPE BENEDICT XVI RIGNED FEBARY 2013, MORS WERE RAMPANT THAT THE ALLEGED GAY LOBBY WAS PART OF THE REASON HE LEFT THE PAPACY. APPARENTLY THE GAY LOBBY WAS SO POWERFUL WAS GIVEN AMPLE K A STILL-SECRET RED-VERED DOSSIER PRENTED TO BENEDICT AS PART OF A VATILEAKS TERNAL VTIGATN AFTER HIS BUTLER WAS NVICTED OF STEALG HIS PRIVATE PAPERS.THE NEW POPE FRANCIS EVEN REFERRED TO THE GAY LOBBY AT A JUNE 6 MEETG WH LAT AMERIN PRELAT. “IN THE CURIA THERE ARE HOLY PEOPLE, TLY HOLY PEOPLE,” FRANCIS REPORTEDLY TOLD THE LAT AMERIN LEGATN. “BUT THERE IS ALSO A CURRENT OF RPTN, ALSO THERE IS, IS TE … THEY SPEAK OF A ‘GAY LOBBY,’ AND THAT IS TE, IS THERE.”FRH ALLEGATNS NOW POT TO THE LOBBY EXTENDG EP TO THE SWISS GUARD, THE POPE’S ELE PROTECTIVE SECURY FORCE, WHO ARE KNOWN FOR THEIR STRIPED YELLOW, RED, ORANGE AND BLUE RENAISSANCE UNIFORMS. THE ELE TROOPS ARE SPECIALLY TRAED SWISS SOLDIERS BETWEEN THE AGE OF 19 AND 30. THE JOB PAYS AROUND $1,000 A MONTH AND CLUS ROOM AND BOARD. IN 1998, AN UNKNOWN GUARD APPARENTLY MURRED A MANR AND THE MAN’S WIFE WHAT MANY SI THE VATIN SPECTED WAS A GAY LOVE TRIANGLE. THE SE REMAS A MYSTERY AND WAS THE BIGGT SNDAL TO ROCK THE SWISS GUARD. UNTIL NOW.IN EARLY JANUARY OF THIS YEAR, A FORMER GUARD TOLD SWISS NEWSPAPER SCHWEIZ OM SONNTAG THAT HE HAD BEEN PROPOSNED DOZENS OF TIM BY PRITS WHO LIVED AND WORKED SI VATIN CY. ONE, WHOM THE UNNAMED GUARD SAID WAS PARTICULARLY BRAZEN, ALLEGEDLY NVCED THE GUARD TO JO HIM FOR DNER ONLY TO TELL HIM THAT HE SHOULD BE “SERVED FOR SSERT,” ACRDG TO THE SWISS PAPER. THE FORMER GUARD ALSO TOLD THE SWISS PAPER HE HAD BEEN MANHANDLED BY VAR CLERGY WHO WERE TRYG TO BED HIM. AS A FOLLOW-UP TO THE STORY, SCHWEIZ ON SONNTAG THEN TERVIEWED ELMAR MAR, A FORMER MANR WHO LED THE ELE FORCE OM 2002 TO 2008, WHO SEND THE MORS, AND WENT ONE STEP FURTHER, TELLG THE PAPER THAT ULD NOT “REFUTE THE CLAIM THAT THERE IS A WORK OF HOMOSEXUALS” WH THE SWISS GUARD SELF. MAR EVEN TOLD THE SWISS PAPER THAT HE PURPOSEFULLY DID NOT PROMOTE GAY SWISS GUARDS OUT OF FEAR THAT THEY WOULD BE DISLOYAL. “I ALSO LEARNED THAT MANY HOMOSEXUALS ARE CLED TO BE MORE LOYAL TO EACH OTHER THAN TO OTHER PEOPLE OR STUTNS. IF THIS LOYALTY WERE TO GO SO FAR AS TO BEE A WORK OR EVEN A KD OF SECRET SOCIETY, I WOULD NOT TOLERATE MY SPHERE OF CISN MAKG. KEY PEOPLE THE VATIN NOW SEEM TO AGREE.”IN THE TERVIEW, MAR ALSO CLAIMED THE VATIN WAS “LIKE A MAG” FOR GAYS, WHO HE SAID TEND TO BE DRAWN TO ALL-MALE ENVIRONMENTS. HE ALSO SAID THAT WHEN HE RETIRED, HE RMED THE LIAISON WH THE HOLY SEE ABOUT HIS NCERNS OF THE GROWG “SECRET SOCIETY” AND THAT HE FEARED MIGHT PUT THE POPE AT RISK.MAR’S MENTS RAISED THE IRE SEVERAL HIGH-RANKG VATIN OFFICIALS, WHO HAVE VED THE RETIRED OFFICER TO E FORWARD WH NAM IF HE STANDS BEHD HIS ALLEGATNS. THE VATIN’S PUTY SECRETARY OF STATE, ARCHBISHOP ANGELO BECCIU, TOLD ITALY’S LA REPUBBLI NEWSPAPER THAT HE HAD CHALLENGED MAR TO MEET HIM. “IF ELMAR MAR WANTS TO E AND SAY EXACTLY WHO HE IS REFERRG TO, I AM HERE,” HE TOLD LA REPUBBLI. “MY OFFICE IS OPEN.POPE FRANCIS HAS NOT SPOKEN OUT ON THE MATTER YET, BUT ONE OF HIS NEWLY NAMED RDALS HAS ANGERED GAY RIGHTS GROUPS WHEN HE LLED HOMOSEXUALY A “BODILY FECT.” FERNANDO SEBASTIEN, 84, WHO IS SLATED TO BEE A RDAL POPE FRANCIS’S FIRST NSISTORY ON FEBARY 22, WILL LIKELY NOT BE VED TO JO THE VATIN’S GAY LOBBY. HE TOLD SPANISH NEWSPAPER DIAR SUR THAT, MOST S, HOMOSEXUALY “N BE CURED WH AQUATE TREATMENT.” HE THEN SAID HE WASN’T AGAST GAY PEOPLE, AND THAT THEIR “FECT” WAS LIKE HIS OWN HIGH BLOOD PRSURE, FOR WHICH THERE WAS ALSO A TREATMENT. BARBIE LATZA NA

Although the book do not nflate homosexualy wh the sexual abe of children, Martel scrib a secretive culture among prits that creat ndns which abe is not nonted, say people faiar wh the book’s ntents. ”But a Polish prit who was sacked om his Vatin job and ocked after announcg he was gay has acced the church of makg the liv of lns of gay Catholics “a hell” a letter to Francis 2015, Krzysztof Charamsa cricised what he lled the Vatin’s hypocrisy banng gay prits and said the clergy was “full of homosexuals” December, Francis was quoted a book about votns as sayg homosexualy was a “fashn” to which the clergy was sceptible. In our societi even seems that homosexualy is fashnable and that mentaly, some way, also fluenc the life of the church, ” he timg of Insi the Closet’s publitn, at the start of a tone summ on sexual abe, will raise ncerns that some people may seek to nflate the two the book’s allegatns are likely to be pored over by senr bishops flyg to Rome om more than 100 untri for the four-day summ.

Photo: AP Former manr of Swiss troops that md pope adds crence to claims about gay prits workg at the heart of the Catholic Church Published: 10:15pm, 21 Jan, 2014 Updated: 4:34pm, 22 Jan, 2014 Swiss Guards, their strikg blue, red and orange uniforms, stand at attentn at the Vatin.

The Italian weekly L'Esprso said prelate Battista Ric had gay relatnships durg his time at the Vatin embassy of Montevio Uguay, as well as an affair wh a Swiss army officer, which ultimately saw him sent back to Rome disgrace.