La Repubblica has published the following story, summarized by the Guardian:
A potentially explosive report has linked the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI to the discovery of a network of gay prelates in the Vatican, some of whom – the report said – were being blackmailed
by outsiders. The pope’s spokesman declined to confirm or deny the report, which was carried by the Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica.
The paper said the pope had taken the decision on 17 December that he was going to resign – the day he received a dossier compiled by three cardinals delegated to look into the so-called “Vatileaks†affair … The newspaper said the cardinals described a number of factions, including one whose members were “united by sexual orientationâ€.
In an apparent quotation from the report, La Repubblica said some Vatican officials had been subject to “external influence†from laymen with whom they had links of a “worldly natureâ€. The paper said this was a clear reference to blackmail.
Hmm. Is the Vatican’s grotesque hypocrisy on the issue of homosexuality part of this story? We don’t yet know.
(If a reader who knows Italian could translate the original piece, I’d be grateful. Photo: Getty Images.)
