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Catholic Church Hit
With New LGBT Scandals
 15
May 2006- London- The Roman Catholic Church was in the midst of
damage control on Sunday following the firing of a key aide to the
Cardinal in London for being gay and the reported arrest of a top
Vatican official in Rome for trying to pick up a gay or transsexual
prostitute.
Cardinal Cormac
Murphy-O'Connor, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and
Wales has reportedly fired his top aide after discovering the man is
gay.
The Mail
reports that Stephen Noon's sexuality was discovered when his long-term
partner visited him at his office.
"His partner
came to the office at the end of the day and was introduced to the
Cardinal," a friend of the couple tells The Mail.
"Shortly
afterwards the Church made it clear that his sexuality was incompatible
with the job he had to do. Since he was the spokesperson for the
Cardinal, Murphy-O'Connor clearly felt he had to act because homosexual
acts are regarded by the Church as a sin," the friend was quoted as
saying.
Noon, 35,
joined the Archbishop's staff in 2003. He was previously a press officer
for the Scottish Nationalist Party, was handed the brief to improve the
Catholic Church's image. The Church was paying him about $70,000 a year.
The cardinal
was a leading opponent of Britain's civil partnership law, had opposed
to the repeal of Clause 28 - which banned the promotion of homosexuality
in schools - and fought against legislation that gave gays and lesbians
job and housing protections.
Meanwhile, in
Rome, the Vatican is vehemently denying published reports that a senior
Church official had been arrested while looking for a male or a
transsexual prostitute in an area of the city know for its hustlers.
The Ansa news
agency and Italian newspapers report that the 48-year-old priest - whose
rank was withheld and who was identified only by the initials CB - works
in the office of the secretary of state of the Vatican.
"Information
disseminated this morning by newspapers concerning a cleric in service
at the Vatican are totally without foundation," a Vatican statement
said.
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