2010 Vatican employee sex scandal
The 2010 Vatican employee sex scandal was an incident in March 2010 in which two part-time employees of the
Incident
Italian engineering executive Angelo Balducci was reportedly involved with pimping a Nigerian
Investigation and response
In March 2010, this escalated into a national scandal in Italy when wiretaps and police documents were published in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica which indicated that Ehiem had been in regular contact with Balducci, and that the main subject of their conversation was "gay sex".[4] Ehiem reportedly said about Balducci, "He asked me if I could procure other men for him. He told me he was married and that I had to do it in great secrecy."[2] A report by the Italian Police investigating the affair for prosecutors in Florence concluded about Balducci's life: "In order to organise casual encounters of a sexual nature, he availed himself of the intercession of two individuals who, it is maintained, may form part of an organised network, especially active in [Rome], of exploiters or at least facilitators of male prostitution."[2]
Balducci was one of four men arrested for alleged involvement in the prostitution racket and hired lawyer Franco Coppi.[4] Balducci had been earlier arrested on 10 February 2010, suspected of "involvement in widespread corruption", "an organised network ... to abet male prostitution".[2][6] Balducci's lawyer Coppi stated that it was a "shameful" act for newspapers to publish conversations which were unrelated to the investigation and stated that he and Balducci had "laughed" when they heard of the allegations.[1] Ehiem was dismissed from the choir after having been a member for 19 years.[4] He accused the magistrates of "ruining his life".[1] CBS News consultant Father Thomas Williams stated that the Vatican had severed its ties with both men and described the situation as "really a sordid affair". He said: "You do the best you can to screen these people. But there are 150 of these men that serve as ushers as Gentlemen to His Holiness. And it's hard to know exactly what they're doing in their private lives. They don't live in Vatican City, they have their jobs and their families, and they have other things going on, as well".[5]
See also
- Index of Vatican City-related articles
- In the Closet of the Vatican
References
- ^ a b c d e "Vatican Enmeshed in Gay Sex Allegations". The New York Times. 4 March 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Vatican hit by gay sex scandal". The Guardian. 4 March 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
- ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed.). Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 2019. Paragraphs 2335–2357.
- ^ a b c d "Sex scandal rocks Vatican: Papal usher, chorister linked to gay prostitution ring". New York Daily News. Reuters. 5 March 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
- ^ a b "New Sex Scandal Rocks Vatican". CBS News. 6 March 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
- ^ a b "Vatican chorister and usher in gay prostitution scandal". The Daily Telegraph. 5 March 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2014.