Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

'I Was Only Pretending to Be Gay'

Booted Vatican priest claims he was gathering info as psychoanalyst

By Jane Yager, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 15, 2007 11:15 AM CDT

(Newser) – A high-ranking Vatican official suspended after he was caught on video making advances to a young man said yesterday in an interview with Italian newspaper La Repubblica that he posed as a homosexual as part of his work as a psychoanalyst. Monsignor Tommaso Stenico said he is celibately heterosexual and only pretended to be gay to gather information.

Tommaso claims he frequented online gay chat rooms and met with gay men merely in order to "better understand this mysterious and faraway world which, by the fault of a few people—among them some priests—is doing so much harm to the Church." Tommaso was suspended when Vatican officials recognized his office in the secretly filmed video.

"It's all false; it was a trap. I was a victim of my own attempts to contribute to cleaning up the Church with my psychoanalyst work," the accused priest told reporters. (AP Images)

The Vatican priest said he posed as a gay man in order to further his work as a psychoanalyst.

The Vatican has not commented on the priest's claim that he was posing as a homosexual with the goal of eradicating homosexuality form the Catholic Church. (Index Stock)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Vatican Mole Is... Pope's Butler?

Paolo Gabriele is arrested after allegedly leaking Benedict's letters

(NEWSER) - An in-house scandal at the Vatican expanded dramatically yesterday with the arrest of the pope's butler, Paolo Gabriele, who was found with confidential documents on him and has been accused of leaking the private letters of Benedict XVI to the press, reports the New York Times . The Vatican confirmed today that Gabriele has been arrested in the enfolding "Vatileaks" scandal, notes AP . The arrest comes just after the ouster of the president of the Vatican Bank over standards at the bank. More»

Vatican Bank Chief Bounced

'I have paid for my transparency,' Ettore Gotti Tedeschi says

(NEWSER) - The chief of the secretive Vatican bank has been given the boot for allegedly letting standards slip at the institution. Ettore Gotti Tedeschi was forced to resign after the bank's board of directors unanimously passed a no-confidence vote against him for failing "to carry out duties of primary importance," the BBC reports. Italian police investigated Gotti Tedeschi as part of a money-laundering probe in 2010, but that's not believed to have been a factor in his ouster. More»

TV Priest: I Fathered Child

Father Thomas Williams in religious order probed for sex abuse

(NEWSER) - A well-known priest who has authored several books and appeared on TV programs to discuss morality, God, and Catholic teachings has revealed he fathered a child. The revelation by Father Thomas Williams, who's a dean of papal morality at a university in Rome, is a new blow to his controversial religious order, which is under investigation by the Vatican for suspected sex abuse of minors by at least seven priests. "I am truly sorry to everyone who is hurt by this revelation," said Williams in a statement. He plans to take a year's leave "to reflect on my commitments as a priest." More»

Vatican Cracks Down on 'Liberal' US Nuns

They're not hard enough on gays, abortion, women priests, says Rome

(NEWSER) - The Vatican is launching a massive crackdown on US nuns for their failure to attack gay marriage, female ordination, and abortion. Officials blasted the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, an umbrella group that oversees some 55,000 American nuns, for sponsoring conferences that feature "radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith," reports USA Today . The situation is "grave and a matter of serious concern," concluded a Vatican report following a two-year investigation of the LCWR. Seattle's archbishop is now in charge of cleaning house at LCWR, overhauling its governance system and all programs. More»

Ahead of 85th Birthday, Benedict Asks Strength

Pontiff will also mark 7th anniversary as pope

(NEWSER) - Staring down both his 85th birthday and the seventh anniversary of his papacy, Pope Benedict today asked the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square for both prayers and strength, reports the AP . "Next Thursday, on the occasion of the seventh anniversary of my election to the See of Peter, I ask for your prayers, so that the Lord gives me the strength to fulfill the mission he entrusted to me." Benedict's birthday is tomorrow; the pontiff will celebrate with older brother Monsignor Georg Ratzinger, who has flown in from Germany. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

'I Was Only Pretending to Be Gay'

Booted Vatican priest claims he was gathering info as psychoanalyst

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Vatican

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Vatican Mole Is... Pope's Butler?

Paolo Gabriele is arrested after allegedly leaking Benedict's letters

Vatican Bank Chief Bounced

'I have paid for my transparency,' Ettore Gotti Tedeschi says

TV Priest: I Fathered Child

Father Thomas Williams in religious order probed for sex abuse

Vatican Cracks Down on 'Liberal' US Nuns

They're not hard enough on gays, abortion, women priests, says Rome

Ahead of 85th Birthday, Benedict Asks Strength

Pontiff will also mark 7th anniversary as pope

About Us

Site

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?