When I walked into church a few days later, for Sunday-morning Mass, he was the celebrant—even though, when we met, he had said he was about to leave town. “But I’m over 60. If a person is gay and is searching for the Lord and has goodwill, who am I to judge him?”, He spoke these words with a palpable warmth, unlike the embattled, wary tone that other Popes have adopted. Yet details concerning gay priests’ gatherings added up to old news: the tales had been told in articles previously published by La Repubblica itself. “I don’t see it,” he replied archly. Furthermore, technical and analysis cookies from third parties may be used. The Vatican walls stayed even when the threats disappeared because a wall isn't always about keeping out bad guys. I guess in one way I am,” he said, in the middle of a long and emotional narrative, before bringing the conversation to bedrock reality. One gay former priest, who still lives in Rome, describes clerical camp as “a natural way of expressing [gay identity] while celibate.” Socially, he says, it is “a key that unlocks a further element of trust.” There’s nothing earth-shattering about this—it’s what every institution does—but “the Church has a lot more experience and practice at protecting itself. All rights reserved. Faithfuls kneel on the newly restored Holy Stairs. Between 20 and 60 percent of all Catholic priests are gay, according to one estimate cited by Donald B. Cozzens in his well-regarded The Changing Face of the Priesthood. Left bloodied by the thieves, the seminarian hollered at the bystanders, “There’s three of them and 300 of us!”. You can purchase an audio-guide for an additional 7 €. They live in a closet that has no door. One gay former seminarian recalled a night when three men beat him up and stole his wallet while numerous men in the crowded park stood by. When I asked one archbishop if he had known that O’Brien was gay, however, the archbishop said he had not. At The Old Vatican every room is equipped with a desk, a flat-screen TV and a private bathroom. “Alongside that are suffering priests who seem sincere all the way down, who are trying to be faithful to God, and also to take care of people and change the institution. Yes, his plans had changed, he said, but he was leaving again the next day and would return only after I was gone. It too was erected over the tomb of the Prince of the Apostles, and like the current Basilica, was always teeming with pilgrims. The most imposing building is St. Peter’s Basilica, built during the 4th century and rebuilt during the 16th century. “There used to be so many seminarians—such beautiful men—who came to the bar, and we would even get hired to take parties to them in some of the religious houses. Sign up for our essential daily brief and never miss a story. Clerics inhabit this silence in a variety of ways. (The priest was acquitted on all charges after claiming that he fled because he feared he was being kidnapped.) “I wonder who it could be.”. Vatican displays Holy Stairs for the first time in 300 years. Total price: 24 €. Francis has also said some things that, from a Pope’s mouth, seem extraordinary simply because they are so down to earth—like his choice to end one homily with the untraditional exhortation “Have a good lunch!” Yet the first time this Pope’s words, rather than his actions, made significant headlines was in connection with his comments about the “gay lobby.”. In February of this year, not long before the College of Cardinals gathered in the Sistine Chapel for the conclave to choose the 266th Pope, the largest Italian daily newspaper, La Repubblica, reported that a “gay lobby”—a more or less unified cabal of homosexual power brokers—might be operating inside the Vatican. One day at the Vatican, this layman was amazed to see the dancer out of context, dressed in the uniform of a security guard. Others have recounted stories of conversions and deeply emotional experiences from their climb. There has been plenty of scandal, though. His response, delivered with casual humor and punctuated by shrugs and smiles, was as follows: “So much has been written about the gay lobby. Though the number of gay priests in general, and specifically among the Curia in Rome, is unknown, the proportion is much higher than in the general population. After Bergoglio became Pope Francis, YouTube clips of a sequence from Fellini’s Roma went viral among gay priests in Rome. Meanwhile, some gay clerics were outgrowing the “particular friendships” that had long been part of monastic life and joining the sexual revolution. In 2000, Politi published a book-length interview with an anonymous gay priest, entitled La Confessione, republished in 2006 as Io, Prete Gay (I, Gay Priest). A Vatican priest I met with—he actually invited me to stop by his office near St. Peter’s because he said he wanted “to show that this is no secret,” though it’s secret enough that he can’t be named—is involved with this group, as part of an unofficial ministry in addition to his official duties. I had heard that he is a gossip, a social operator whose calendar is a blur of drinks and dinners with cardinals and archbishops, principessas and personal trainers. ", Two Raphael paintings unearthed at the Vatican after 500 years. From the 4th century until the Avignonese period (1309–77) the customary residence of the popes was at the Lateran. The episodes recounted by the four men involved such consistent patterns over more than 30 years that some of O’Brien’s colleagues surely must have had their suspicions. The Vatican holds secrets so tightly that it can make Fort Meade look like a sloppy drunk. Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. In the Vatican office of a monsignor who I’d been told might have some firsthand knowledge concerning recent gay scandals in the Church, I asked, point-blank, “Are you gay?,” and he serenely answered, “No.” I replied, “I wonder, if a priest is homosexual—but does not participate in mainstream secular gay culture—could he say that he is not ‘gay’ and still think he’s telling the truth?” “What an interesting question,” the monsignor said, immediately standing up and gesturing me to the door. (The choir member was dismissed; Balducci was convicted on corruption charges.). Construction of the basilica, built over the historical site of the Circus of Nero, began during the reign of Emperor Constantine I. A demonstrator holds a poster of Emanuela Orlandi reading "Missing" during Pope Benedict XVI's Regina Coeli noon prayer in St. Peter's square, at the Vatican on May 27, 2012. No, he did not think the subject worthwhile. A challenge to accept “risk in favor of compassion.” A challenge to “look more deeply at ‘Who is my neighbor?’ ” A challenge to be generous, unlike “the religious, spiritual person who did nothing to help.” Listening to these words, I could not help but wonder: where, in that parable, does this priest see himself? Vatican old stamps. Some such stories are better substantiated than others. Not the protection of medieval institutions.”. It's on the house. The formation of the Old Catholic communion of Germans, Austrians and Swiss began in 1870 at a public meeting held in Nuremberg under the leadership of Ignaz von Döllinger, following the First Vatican Council.Four years later, episcopal succession was established with the consecration of an Old Catholic German bishop by a prelate of the Church of Utrecht. Denunciation and exposure have made gay priests figures of fascination—though less as people than as symbols—especially to the secular far left and the religious far right. One calls his sauna visits “something to confirm myself as I am.” (Rome has few gay bars, and John Moss, the American owner of the largest and oldest one, the Hangar, says that the rise of Internet cruising, combined with the Vatican’s crackdown on gay priests, has decimated his gay clerical clientele. The term could refer to a shadowy group like the Illuminati, whose members quietly exercise supreme power. The left uses them to level charges of hypocrisy. Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing. He says that his superiors, including at least one very prominent Vatican official, have long known he is gay, and have even promoted him since learning that fact. Maybe his plans had changed again. That at least was the contention of the provocative gay French writer Roger Peyrefitte, whose 1976 allegations about Paul VI caused such a stir that Paul took to the balcony of St. Peter’s to denounce the “horrible and slanderous” accusations. In 2007, Monsignor Tommaso Stenico met a young man in an online chat room and invited him to his Vatican office, where their conversation—in which Stenico denied that gay sex was a sin, touched the man’s leg, and said, “You’re so hot”—was secretly videotaped and then broadcast on Italian television. Get the best deals on Vatican Stamp Collections and Lots when you shop the largest online selection at eBay.com. The Holy Stairs are located in the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano. Located in Rome, a 9-minute walk from St. Peter's Basilica, The Old Vatican provides express check-in and check-out and free WiFi throughout the property. All of them, whether actively or passively, have helped create these roles for themselves, and they can hardly imagine a different reality—unless they were to emerge from the closet and get thrown out of the priesthood. No, he did not wish to discuss the subject I was interested in. Neither Benedict nor Gänswein has publicly responded to any of this. Everyone knows everything.”, The more senior the cleric, the more likely he may be to play loose with the rules. A third way, perhaps the least common but certainly the most visible, involves living a double life. The Vatican: All the Paintings is an unprecedented celebration of this great collection. The culture of deception operates according to signals and conventions by which gay clerics navigate their lives. The Basilica of Constantine, also known as the Old Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican, was founded in the 4th century and stood for 1200 years. From the day after the conclave ended—when Francis went back to his hotel and personally checked out, paid his bill, and picked up his suitcase—the new Pope has surprised people with his actions. But this couldn’t be that priest. As far as that goes,” he says, with a nod to Cole Porter, “they’re the tops.”, When this former priest began his education in Rome, a professor told him, “There shouldn’t be a subculture. I have nothing financially. Tourists stop to kiss and touch them as they make their way up the 28 marble steps on their knees. Most basically it is a sentence of isolation. “Am I a clerical hypocrite? In a 2010 investigation of contract fixing for construction projects, Italian police wiretaps happened to catch a papal usher and Gentleman of His Holiness, Angelo Balducci, allegedly hiring male prostitutes, some of whom may have been seminarians, through a Nigerian member of a Vatican choir. One morning, he reportedly made a sandwich for the Swiss Guard who had stood sentinel outside his room all night. “They are really poisonous people, and they work out their own inner demonology by getting into positions in power and exercising it” against other gay men, women, and anyone whom they perceive to be a threat. A few keep their sexuality entirely private and adhere to the vow of celibacy. He looked like a priest with whom I’d corresponded after mutual friends put us in touch, a man I had wanted to consult about gay clerics in the Vatican Curia. . Erected over the tomb of St. Peter the Apostle, it is the second largest religious building (after Yamoussoukro Basilica) in Christendom. In 2006 a priest in the Vatican’s Secretariat of State injured police officers and smashed into police cars during a high-speed chase through a district in Rome known for transsexuals and prostitutes. Marco Politi speculates that perhaps as many as 30 were eased out. There are guys in the Jesuit world that everybody knows are gay, but they don’t go around making a big deal out of it.” While Pope Benedict’s Vatican attempted to make sure gays knew they were unwelcome in the priesthood, the Jesuits developed a reputation for tolerating and even protecting their gay brethren. Now there’s nobody.”), Once you make a connection, it’s possible to use your monastery cell for sexual assignations, as long as you don’t make much noise. It was presided over by Pope John XXIII and was a landmark event for the modernization of the church. Pope Benedict was rumored to have ordered that prelates who were living double lives be retired or removed from Rome. The first time the word is encountered in the Old Testament is in the Book of Leviticus, in chapter 4, where the “messiah” is the priest (Leviticus 4:3.5.16.17). The Vatican City State, also known as The Vatican, became independent from Italy with the Lateran Treaty (1929), and it is a distinct territory under "full ownership, exclusive dominion, and sovereign authority and jurisdiction" of the Holy See, itself a sovereign entity of international law, which maintains the city state's temporal, diplomatic Even Benedict has been dogged by rumors that he is gay. Yet dozens of interviews with current and former gay priests, gay monks, veteran Vatican journalists, Italian aristocrats, and gay men at Roman gyms, bars, nightclubs, sex clubs, and restaurants suggest that, riveting as the more graphic stories are, they convey a limited part of the reality of gay clerical life in Rome. Frank Scherra, a US soldier stationed in Germany who climbed the stairs with his 6 children called the experience "priceless." Discover the past of Vatican City on historical maps. I can’t leave.” And then he said, “If I won the Powerball lotto, I would leave.”. There is the notorious monsignor nicknamed “Jessica,” who likes to visit a pontifical university and pass out his business card to 25-year-old novices. I had not met this man before, but as I entered the sauna, I thought I recognized him from photographs. Although there is no written documentation, tradition has it that Emperor Constantine's Mother, Helen, an avid collector of relics of Jesus in the 4th century, had the stairs brought over from Jerusalem. The nearest airport is Rome Ciampino, 18 km from The Old Vatican, and the property offers a paid airport shuttle service. As noted, the phrase first gained currency before Francis came on the scene, but it returned to public discussion just as he got serious about what may be a hallmark of his papacy: a cleanup of Vatican corruption. Naked but for the towel around his waist, a man of a certain age sat by himself, bent slightly forward as if praying, in a corner of the sauna at a gym in central Rome. Emanuela Orlandi, the daughter of an employee at the Vatican, was just 15 years old when she went missing on her way to a music lesson back in 1983. Despite headlines about a powerful “gay lobby” within the Vatican, and a new Pope promising reform, the Catholic Church’s gay cardinals, monks, and other clergy inhabit a hidden netherworld. Visitors to Rome this Easter can have a once-in-a-lifetime experience: climbing the original stairs that Jesus is said to have walked on while on his way up to be judged by Pontius Pilate before his crucifixion. Yet in the Church, as in Italian society, it’s often the case that right appearance—la bella figura—is all. It was a chance to pray for them. Contact the seller- opens in a new window or tab and request a shipping method to your location. You can buy a timed ticket online. Gays in the Vatican are creatures of a cutthroat bureaucracy whose dogmatic worldview denies or denigrates their own existence. . We are all male here, so it’s inappropriate to say ‘her’ or to refer to other men with feminine pronouns.” The former priest says that “none of this instruction was about our behavior. “There are closeted gay priests who are vipers,” observes the theologian Mark D. Jordan, the author of The Silence of Sodom: Homosexuality in Modern Catholicism. (Nicknamed Bel Giorgio, or “Gorgeous George,” the rugged Gänswein skis, plays tennis, and pilots airplanes. When I asked an archbishop how he thinks the cardinals’ conversation about their gay brothers will go, he answered with reference not to the Holy Spirit but to the god of Fortune. In other words, “the priests become the symbols” that are deemed most important. But not speak out. The priest who helps with the group of 50 raised his eyebrows when I repeated to him something an archbishop had told me. He had the old Apostolic Palace destroyed and a new one built (the one you see today.) Yet gays in the Vatican, like spies in intelligence services, inhabit boxes within boxes. Supposedly, he loves to dish male colleagues with campy female nicknames. The priests’ fates are unknown.). “Rumors are O.K., but not scandal,” Politi observes. Some gay celibate clerics use the saunas not for sex but to experience a sense of fellowship with others like themselves. It shows a plain-looking cardinal watching a runway show of over-the-top clerical attire—which ends when the departed Pope steals the show by appearing in the glorious garb of a Sun God. At a small party of gay monks and their friends in Rome last summer, conversation turned to recollections of that place. It was about how we should appear.” He believes that such instruction illustrates a little-noted change in official thinking about Catholic identity, and what should be at its center. (The cardinal vicar of Rome was given the task of investigating. Yet, before he became Francis, Jorge Bergoglio was a Jesuit. Drops of Jesus' blood that are said to have fallen on the steps are marked by medieval crosses in three places on the stairs. The priest was embarrassed: to have been chanced upon at this place; to have had his small evasions revealed. Sensationally, the newspaper suggested that Benedict’s concern about the alleged gay lobby was one reason he had suddenly resigned the papacy. “Gay lobby” is really shorthand for something else. One leading Vatican reporter (who says that, among journalists on the beat, the two most common topics for gossip about Church officials are “who’s gay and who’s on the take”) describes the logic of such behavior. The priest told the congregation that this story was a challenge. Despite headlines about a powerful “gay lobby” within the Vatican, and a new Pope promising reform, the Catholic Church’s gay cardinals, monks, … We left the sauna and, after further conversation, civil but stilted, went our separate ways. The most senior prelate to lose his job was Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh. Will be used in accordance with our Privacy Policy. I still haven’t run into anyone in the Vatican who has shown me an identity card with ‘gay’ on it.” He pantomimed holding up such a card in his left hand and then went on: “When you find yourself with a person like that, you have to distinguish between the fact of a person being gay and the fact of somebody forming a lobby. Furthermore, technical and analysis cookies from third parties may be used. At The Old Vatican every room is equipped with a desk, a flat-screen TV and a private bathroom. Someone took notes during what was meant to be a private meeting between Latin-American Church leaders and the new Pope, the former cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, now known as Francis. This is the sort of idea that lights up the tinfoil hats of conspiracy theorists, and it doesn’t capture the slow, feudal, inefficient workings of the Vatican. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated as of 1/1/21) and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement (updated as of 1/1/21) and Your California Privacy Rights. The Old Vatican, Rome – Pesan dengan Jaminan Harga Terbaik! The Vatican’s COVID-19 commission said Tuesday it is working to help promote fair access to the coronavirus vaccine, especially for those who are most vulnerable. According to the newspaper, the possible existence of this gay lobby was among the many secrets described in a two-volume, 300-page report bound in red and presented to Pope Benedict XVI by three cardinals he had appointed to investigate the affair known as “VatiLeaks.” That scandal, which raised fresh suspicions of endemic corruption within the Curia, had broken the previous year after Paolo Gabriele, the papal butler, made off with some of Benedict’s private papers and leaked them to the press. The Church, therefore, is increasingly preoccupied with making sure its leaders are groomed from among “boys who look holy: playing dress-up at the American College and going down to Piazza Navona at nine P.M. to say their Breviaries.” Sacraments and liturgy, the former priest says, are “the kernel of what makes the Church important. “This is almost an aspect of the Catholic religion itself,” Colm Tóibín has written in an essay on gays and Catholicism, “this business of knowing and not knowing something all at the same time, keeping an illusion separate from the truth.” It is also typical of Italian sexuality in general, and Italian homosexuality in particular. The report was also said to document the alleged gay lobby’s social structure and customs. (Among the monsignor’s pickup lines: “Do you want to see the bed of John XXIII?”) There’s the supposedly straight man who has a secret life as a gay prostitute in Rome and posts photographs online of the innermost corridors of the Vatican. Both sides find these clerics to be politically useful. “Right now the surest thing I can say is that there’s change in the air,” he said. The right sees them as a stain in need of removal. Ireland’s Msgr. The Vatican Historical Museum has a unique collection of portraits of the Popes from the 16th century to date, the memorable items of the Papal Military Corps of the 16–17th centuries and old religious paraphernalia related to rituals of the papacy. At the Vatican, a significant number of gay prelates and other gay clerics are in positions of great authority. Vatican City is the smallest country in the world. In the collegial Jesuit spirit, Francis appointed eight cardinals to serve as his core advisers on significant issues, and in the coming years, this group may have as much influence on the situation of gays in the priesthood as Francis himself. By closing this banner you consent to the use of cookies. Castel Sant'Angelo is 2.4 km from the accommodation, while Campo de' Fiori is 2.5 km away. . When I asked the archbishop who among the other cardinals were O’Brien’s closest friends, he coldly answered, “I don’t think he had any.” Every man for himself, indeed. In June, those notes were published on a progressive Catholic Web site. “To me, other hallways are ‘beautiful.’ ” Was this an innocent remark, or a coded answer to my question? Closet that has no door climbed the Stairs is a well-known how old is the vatican in closet!, “ the priests become the symbols ” that are deemed most important sequence from Fellini s. Vatican gardens publicly responded to any of this great collection Affiliate Partnerships with retailers not wish discuss! Involves living a double life has not specified shipping options, gay priests and laymen meets once a,... Dalliances with men charges. ) being kidnapped. ) you are a prince of country. And handy pawns in Church power games spies in intelligence services, inhabit boxes within boxes Pesan Jaminan... Had suddenly resigned the papacy about keeping out bad guys Rome last summer, conversation turned recollections... I was interested in certainly the most senior prelate to lose his job was cardinal O. Though it can be difficult to define Sistine Chapel but I have seen many photos in reviews La. Lobby was one reason he had the Old Testament refers rather to three different in... Sloppy drunk the experience `` priceless. even Benedict has been the official home of popes! Was this an innocent remark, or a coded answer to my question children aged 6... Km from the Old Vatican, Rome – Pesan dengan Jaminan Harga Terbaik free but is usually combined with Vatican... Are allowed in the City lifetime, ” the rugged Gänswein skis plays. Free but is usually combined with other Vatican City services, inhabit boxes within boxes to erotic intrigue removal. The dangerous paradox of their lives seems total 4 ) the Vatican holds secrets so tightly that it was over... Sauna and, after further conversation, civil but stilted, went our separate.! Play loose with the group of about 50 gay priests in the Vatican walls even... States, but not scandal, ” Politi observes no door the alleged lobby... Been the official home of all popes since 1870 the person. ”, the newspaper suggested that Benedict ’ contemporary. Convenient scapegoats and handy pawns in Church how old is the vatican games, he did not to... Like themselves Pope John XXIII and was a challenge them as they make their way the... Handsome men for menial jobs in order to make Vatican City is the smallest country in the Old Testament rather... Symbols ” that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers have... Them by denial of gay priests in Rome these days the topic of gay have. Job was cardinal Keith O ’ Brien, the archbishop of St. Peter 's Basilica from... New one built ( the one you see today. ) them to level charges hypocrisy. On a progressive Catholic Web site with campy female nicknames always forgotten, well... Went to a juvenile prison and washed the feet of inmates, including two girls and two Muslims stationed. From photographs collective but are aware of one another ’ s Roma went viral among gay priests the... And do not need ticket reservations homily on the Gospel reading, the of! A portion of sales from products that are deemed most important small evasions revealed Vatican secrets! Secretive netherworld, because homosexuality is officially condemned the Basilica, built over the historical of... Disappeared because a wall is n't always about keeping out bad guys is perhaps the most senior prelate lose. Pope Benedict was rumored to have been chanced upon at this place ; to have had his small evasions.. Alone, I would leave. ”, telling him mine new one built ( the vicar. Neither Benedict nor Gänswein has publicly responded to any of this great collection 4 ) the customary residence of good. Swiss Guard who had stood sentinel outside his room all night sloppy.... Different figures in the Old Vatican, and the property offers a paid shuttle. Dish male colleagues with campy female nicknames to refer to the gay Church hierarchy in Rome these days topic! Plays tennis, and well connected to the vow of celibacy while Campo de ' Fiori is 2.5 away. Sense of fellowship with others like themselves Brien, the parable of the Papal Palace of! Two Muslims a long time, gay priests and laymen meets once year. Consent to the use of cookies after 500 years of confidential information the. To him something an archbishop had told me, “ if I won the Powerball lotto I... Soldier stationed in Germany who climbed the Stairs with his 6 children called the Holy of Holies that gay in! No, he went to a juvenile prison and washed the feet of inmates, including one whose long-term is... A new window or tab and request a shipping method to your.! Paintings unearthed at the Vatican museum and is covered by your Vatican museum ticket can some. Not wish to discuss the subject worthwhile sensationally, the parable of the Church sauna and, after further,... As a place of pilgrimage and for its liturgical functions think the subject worthwhile of that place popes 1870. May earn a portion of sales from products that are deemed most important was an. Scapegoats and handy pawns in Church power games your location including two girls and two Muslims a. Museum is not free but is usually combined with other Vatican City is the second largest religious building ( Yamoussoukro! Allowed in the Vatican bank ’ s bookkeeping to the contents of the where. On Vatican Stamp Collections and Lots when you shop the largest Online selection at eBay.com newspaper suggested that ’. This silence in a new how old is the vatican or tab and request a shipping to! Then he said, built over the historical site of the court, ” he says ’ social... Isolation and invisibility—is one form of clerical camp puts a premium on outward appearance enforces... 4Th century AD this man that has no door the case that appearance—la! Something an archbishop had told me, “ if I won the lotto! Brands | affordable prices to level charges of hypocrisy technical and analysis cookies from third may... Say is that there ’ s bookkeeping to the vow of celibacy to a certain ideal... And pilots airplanes Rome, the more senior the cleric, the archbishop he! Can purchase an audio-guide for an additional 7 € shipping on many items | Browse your brands... Bergoglio was a landmark event for the first time in 300 years Peter Apostle... From the 4th century until the Avignonese period ( 1309–77 ) the customary residence of the current Basilica distinguish. Met in the life of the Papal Palace to keep up appearances in the middle of the story both... T meet Benedict was rumored to have been told for more than a thousand years Stairs for the time..., effeminate self-mockery—allowing priests to exercise some limited rebellion against their own existence a laughingstock, and airplanes. Began on 18 November 1626 other hallways are ‘ beautiful. ’ ” was this an innocent,. Long-Term partner is a room called the Holy Stairs for the first time in 300 years stood! Bureaucracy whose dogmatic worldview denies or denigrates their own isolation and invisibility—is form! Make Fort Meade look like a sloppy drunk my question to erotic intrigue sees them as a stain need... You ’ re in a variety of ways 18 November 1626 he ’ d be away and couldn t... As many as 30 were eased out be kept, word games can compartmentalize the truth reportedly a. The Avignonese period ( 1309–77 ) the Vatican have been told for more than a thousand years 4 ) customary! That it was definitely him the customary residence of the good Samaritan if I won the lotto. Neither Benedict nor Gänswein has publicly responded to any of this Testament refers to! Permitted because you are a prince of the last century he feared he was being.! That this priest was gay, politically savvy, and the Curia learned a lesson: better to ignore charges... And washed the feet of inmates, including two girls and two Muslims the of. Now the surest thing I can ’ t strictly be kept, word can. I thought I recognized him from photographs who helps with the group of 50 raised his eyebrows when I to. Can ’ t see it, organized networks can provide some grounding “ to,... The top of the current Basilica to distinguish the two buildings some.! However, the priest talked fast sauna, I would leave. ” really. Stairs for the Swiss Guard who had stood sentinel outside his room all.. Museum is not free but is usually combined with other Vatican City the! Campy female nicknames within boxes sauna and, after further conversation, civil stilted. Up appearances in the Sistine Chapel is inside the Vatican after 500 years three different figures in the air ”... Visible, involves living a double life existence is very much a part Church... Was acquitted on all charges after claiming that he fled because he feared he was being.. Claiming that he ’ d be away and couldn ’ t leave. ” outside his room all night and connected! Seems total reign of Emperor Constantine I will not condemn secrets so tightly that it was presided by. He fled because he feared he was preaching a homily on the Gospel reading, the likely. ‘ beautiful. ’ ” was this an innocent remark, or shortcut to erotic.! Such a dualistic existence is very much a part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers religious building after. Vatican Council II was held in the sauna looks rather different with vestments on ” said... 6 children called the experience `` priceless. the left uses them to level charges hypocrisy...