Lucy, you got some ‘splainin’ to do!
The Vatican confirmed yesterday it has suspended a priest from a senior post after an Italian TV station used a hidden camera to record him making sexual advances to a young man.
Milan daily Corriere della Sera had previously reported that a young man had contacted the TV station, La7, and said he had been in contact with several priests on chat lines popular with gay men. Corriere said La7 then filmed encounters between the man and priests with a hidden camera.
Monsignor Tommaso Stenico, 60, who worked at the Congregation for Clergy, is being investigated by the Disciplinary Commission of the Roman Curia.
The monsignor, a doctor of theology with a licentiate in psychology, has worked as a psychotherapist for 30 years. Stenico said he claimed to be homosexual because he was seeking information “to write a book about the problem of homosexuality among priests.” He says he only pretended to be gay to learn about people trying to “harm” the church.
Monsignor Stenico added, “Definitely, it was nothing more than an experiment, a study about the theme, and I have fallen in the trap, but I will explain it to my superiors.”
Unfortunately for the monsignor, he also appeared in a TV documentary with three other priests, all with their faces and voices distorted to protect their identities, to talk about their homosexuality.
He told La7 TV he “did not feel in sin” for being gay or having sex with men but preferred anonymity “to avoid being reprimanded by my superiors, given the current firm position of Catholic doctrine regarding priestly celibacy and homosexuality.”
However, during the interview his office in the Vatican was clearly visible in the background, leading to the discovery of his true identity.
I feel sorry for anyone humiliated so publicly. I’m sure people at the Vatican decided to make an example of him given his statements about being gay. That said, he sure was a dumb bunny to permit an interview in his office where he could be easily identified.
I hope he still writes his book. He certainly has plenty of material, now.
