Priests in the Closet

Nov 25, 2019 | Frédéric Martel is dragging them out—and calling out hypocrisy. | Frédéric Martel is being interviewed by David Marr.

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”The Majority of the Vatican Priests Are Gay” | Sternstunde Religion | SRF Kultur | Reupload

Mar 31, 2020 • It is well known that the Vatican frowns upon men who love men. But that the centre of power of the Roman Catholic Church should at the same time be one of the largest gay communities worldwide was new to many when Frédéric Martel brought this thesis to the world in 2019.

After having published "In the Closet of the Vatican" simultaneously in eight languages, the French author and journalist was invited to countless talk shows, but the Vatican was shrouded in silence.

Whoever felt somehow different - just homosexual - as a young man in the 30s, 40s and 50s of the last century, found an oasis in the Roman Catholic Church, according to Martel. Men living among men, wearing different clothes and singing in a choir, that would have been the salvation for many, which was also accepted by society.

While most of the men Martel spoke to are very old, their world view remains: Homophobic on the outside, homophile on the inside. This led to a dangerous double standard, a culture of silence, which had very unhappily promoted the scandals around the Catholic Church.

Sternstunde Religion vom 29.3.2020


Deutsche Version hier.

Out Yourself as a Gay Priest and Get Kicked Out of the Vatican

“High-ranking Polish priest Father Krzystof Charamsa was fired by the Vatican just hours after coming out as gay, and revealing that he had a partner. But the Vatican says it has nothing to do with his being gay.” – Daily Mail
Many thanks to the Daily Mail on Pinterest for the great photo.
Read the article from October 3, 2015:

Polish priest outs himself as gay and is immediately sacked by Vatican officials: Father Krzystof Charamsa urged church to change its 'backwards' attitude / He revealed he is gay and has a partner in two separate interviews / The Vatican insisted his dismissal had nothing to do with his homosexuality Click here.

Gay Priest Comes Out at Vatican, Is Immediately Fired

Oct 3, 2015 • Monsignor Krzysztof Charamsa is calling on the Vatican to publicly change its stance on homosexuality

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Gay Priest Fired by Vatican because of Homophobia

A Polish priest, who came out as gay and was fired by the Vatican just before a meeting of bishops about outreach to gays, said a "very special kind of homophobia" exists among priests, because those who are homosexual are forced to hate themselves.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Krzysztof Charamsa said that everybody at the Vatican knows who is gay and who is not, but nobody talks about it freely

. Charamsa was a mid-level official in the Vatican's doctrine office. He openly admitted his homosexuality in interviews in Italy and Poland last month, saying he was happy and proud to be a gay priest and was in love with his boyfriend.

The declarations, a day before the bishops met, prompted the Vatican to fire him. Despite his dismissal, Charamsa remains a priest, although the director of the Holy See Press Office, Father Federico Lombardi, hinted that his superiors could take further action.

Charamsa, 43, now lives with his boyfriend in Barcelona.


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Polish Priest Dismissed from Vatican Post after Coming Out as Gay

Oct 3, 2015 • A Polish priest has been removed from a Vatican post after telling a newspaper he is gay.

Krzystof Charamsa says it is time for the Catholic Church to "open its eyes" and change its stance on homosexuality.

It comes as bishops arrive in Rome for a synod, with homosexuality expected to be on the agenda.

"My decision to 'come out' is a very personal decision in the homophobic world of the Catholic Church. It has been very difficult and very hard," said Charamsa.


Related.

Gay Priest: Roman Catholic Church 'Violently Homophobic' - BBC News

Oct 29, 2015 • A senior Vatican priest, Krzysztof Charamsa, stripped of his post after admitting being in a gay relationship, tells BBC News why he wrote to the Pope criticising the Church over its hypocrisy in banning gay priests.

Antigay Catholic Newsletter Threatens to Out More Priests via Grindr

Giulio Napolitano/Shutterstock
ADVOCATE: The Pillar has suggested in reports it could out several people using the hookup app, including some within the Vatican.

The Vatican is concerned that The Pillar, a newsletter-based publication run by anti-LGBTQ+ members of the Church’s hierarchy who outed a priest using Grindr data last month, is just getting started.

In its initial report, the newsletter claimed that Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill, the highest-ranking American cleric who is not a bishop, was likely having sex with men he met through Grindr and had been doing so for years. Burrill resigned as general secretary shortly after the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) was informed of the coming report.

In subsequent reports, the newsletter alleged that it has obtained further online dating app data that implicates high-ranking officials in the Catholic church as engaging in gay sex. Although it has stopped short of outing anyone specific, the concern is that the reports go beyond leaders here in the U.S. (a second report claimed the publication had data showing dating app use within the Archdiocese of Newark, N.J.) but potentially to the highest ranks of the Vatican.

According to a third report, “at least 16 mobile devices emitted signals from the hookup app Grindr” and “16 other devices showed the use of other location-based hookup or dating apps, both heterosexual and homosexual” from “within the non-public areas of the Vatican City State” in 2018, The Pillar alleges. » | Rachel Shatto | Monday, August 23, 2021

«Die Mehrheit der Priester im Vatikan ist schwul» | Sternstunde Religion | SRF Kultur

Mar 31, 2020 • Mit seiner These, wonach die Mehrheit der Prälaten, Bischöfe und Kardinäle des Vatikans schwul seien, generierte der französische Soziologe und Journalist Frédéric Martel im Frühling 2019 viel Aufmerksamkeit, aber auch Unverständnis.

Sein Buch «Sodom» erschien zeitgleich in acht Sprachen und Martel wurde in unzählige Talkshows eingeladen, doch der Vatikan hüllte sich in Schweigen. Wer sich in den 30er-, 40er- und 50er-Jahren des letzten Jahrhunderts als junger Mann irgendwie anders – eben homosexuell – fühlte, fand in der römisch-katholischen Kirche eine Oase, so Martel in seinem Buch «Sodom»: Männer, die unter Männern leben, andere Kleidung tragen und singen, das wäre für viele die Rettung gewesen, die zudem noch von der Gesellschaft akzeptiert war.

Gegen aussen seien diese in der Regel sehr alten Männer nun homophob, gegen innen aber homophil. Dies führe zu einer gefährlichen Doppelmoral, einer Kultur des Schweigens, die die Skandale rund um die katholische Kirche sehr unglücklich begünstigt hätten.


The following is the same programme, but with English subtitles:


About Frédéric Martel and his books here.

A Vicar's Wedding: 'He Loves God and He Loves Stephen'

THE GUARDIAN: Gay Anglican clergy to defy church's official stance on same-sex marriage » | Nicola Slawson | Sunday, August 21, 2016

Ex-Vatican Official Krzysztof Charamsa: 'I'm a Gay Man. I'm Not a Monster'

THE GUARDIAN: Former Polish priest, who was sacked after revealing he was gay, on his decision to publicly announce his sexuality and his hopes for the Catholic church

Krzysztof Charamsa, the former Vatican official who was sacked and defrocked after publicly announcing he was gay, breaks out into a wide grin when he is asked whether he has plans to marry his boyfriend. His answer is coy, but his smile and giddy laughter seem to reveal his intentions.

“I understand many people who say ‘we don’t need the institution of marriage. Our love is free’. I am not in this part of society. For me, [marriage] is part of the dynamic of love and I thank God that I live in a century where it’s possible, thanks to the homosexual movement and thanks to many homosexual martyrs.”

It has been less than a month since the Polish 43-year-old, a former senior Vatican aide and monsignor, announced at a press conference that he was gay and in love as his Catalan boyfriend, Eduard, stood by his side. The admission, a day before the start of a contentious meeting of bishops in Rome to debate the church’s approach to modern “family issues”, including homosexuality, resulted in him getting immediately sacked.

The Vatican called the timing of the announcement “very serious and irresponsible” and said it was clear he could no longer work as a senior aide for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the office within the Vatican tasked with defending Catholic doctrine. Read on and comment » | Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Rome | Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Vatican Fires Priest Who Announced He's Gay, in Relationship

Oct. 04, 2015 - 2:37 - Priest denounced homophobia throughout Church, urges clergy to address issue

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Polish Priest Krysztof Charamsa Comes Out as Gay, Is Sacked by Vatican

THE INDEPENDENT: 'It's time for the Church to open its eyes about gay Catholics and to understand that the solution it proposes to them -- total abstinence from a life of love -- is inhuman'

The Vatican dismissed a priest from his post in a Holy See office on Saturday after he told a newspaper he was gay and urged the Catholic Church to change its stance on homosexuality.

Monsignor Krzystof Charamsa was removed from his position at the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican's doctrinal arm where he had worked since 2003, a statement said.

Charamsa, 43, and a Polish theologian, announced he was gay and had a partner in a long interview with Italy's Corriere della Sera {English] newspaper on Saturday.

He later held a news conference with his partner, a Spanish man, and gay activists at a Rome restaurant. They had planned a demonstration in front of the Vatican but changed the venue several hours before it was due to have started.

The Vatican said Charamsa's dismissal had nothing to do with his comments on his personal situation, which it said "merit respect". Read on and comment » | Philip Pullella | Saturday, October 3, 2015

Church of England Faces 'Crisis’ As Gay Priest Weds

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Church of England faces "crisis" as Canon Jeremy Pemberton, a priest from Lincoln, becomes the first to defy its ban on gay clergy marrying

A priest has become the first in Britain to defy the Church of England’s ban on gay clergy marrying.

Canon Jeremy Pemberton, 58, a divorced hospital chaplain, wed his long-term partner Laurence Cunnington, 51, on Saturday afternoon.

Campaigners expressed delight that the couple had taken advantage of Britain’s newly-introduced gay marriage laws and urged bishops to “bless” their partnership. They predict he will be the first of many gay clergy to marry. » | Edward Malnick | Saturday, April 12, 2014

Pope Francis Reaches Out to Gay People, But Ban on Women Priests Stands

Pope Francis indicates gay priests are not unacceptable to the Church. Giving a news conference on board his plane, he said he will not judge somebody who is gay and searches for God. He said the Church's ban on women priests is definitive: 'This door is closed.' But other roles in the Church are acceptable, he added

Related »

Who Am I to Judge Gay Priests? Pope Francis Makes Surprisingly Open Remarks

THE INDEPENDENT: He says gay clergymen should be forgiven and their sins forgotten

Pope Francis reached out to gay people today, saying he wouldn't judge priests for their sexual orientation in a remarkably open and wide-ranging news conference as he returned from his first foreign trip.

"If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?" Francis asked.

His predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, signed a document in 2005 that said men with deep-rooted homosexual tendencies should not be priests. Francis was much more conciliatory, saying gay clergymen should be forgiven and their sins forgotten.

Francis' remarks came Monday during a plane journey back to the Vatican from his first foreign trip in Brazil. » | Nicole Winfield | Monday, July 29, 2013