Pope Francis I admits to the existence of a “gay lobby” in the Vatican.
According to CNN, the Pope wants to change the Vatican power structure by challenging the supposed “gay lobby” after secrets and lies have led to scandal that has rocked the church in recent years.
In comments to the President Board of CLAR (the Latin American and Caribbean Confederation of Religious Men and Women – Confederación Latinoamericana y Caribeña de Religiosos y Religiosas) on June 6, 2013, His Holiness referenced the “gay lobby” inside the Roman Curia.
According to a translation of his speech provided by the Chilean website Reflexión y Liberación (Reflection and Liberation), Pope Francis said:
And, yes… it is difficult. In the Curia, there are also holy people. Really, there are holy people. But there also is a stream of corruption, there is that as well, it is true… The “gay lobby” is mentioned, and it is true, it is there… We need to see what we can do…
Information about a “network” of gay clergy surfaced last year in reports about a series of embarrassing leaks to Italian journalists.
The “Vatileaks” scandal factored in Pope Emeritus Benedict XIV’s surprising decision to resign earlier this year, according to some church experts, as it impressed upon the 86-year-old pontiff that the modern papacy requires a vigorous and watchful presence.
Francis’ enigmatic comments came during a meeting Sunday with CLAR, which head Catholic communities of priests, sisters and monks.
A Vatican spokesman told CNN, “The Holy See Press Office has no official comment on the private meeting.”
Gay and lesbian Catholic groups did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) said, “structure, not sexuality, is the real issue.”
“The church is a monarchy. Monarchs are unaccountable. So many monarchs are corrupt. This is true in both secular and religious institutions,” SNAP said in a statement.
Other Catholics counseled caution about reading too much into the pope’s remarks.
“We don’t have any explanation of what ‘gay lobby’ means,” said Rocco Palmo, a Vatican watcher who runs “Whispers in the Loggia,” a website on Catholic news and church politics.
There has been a debate in the Catholic Church on whether or not gay men should be ordained. It’s not a common sense debate since many gay men have already been ordained. Many will be ordained this year. The debate may evolve to whether or not priests should be celibate, or whether marriage for priests should be allowed.
