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Vatican suspends cleric
for tv gay talk
 14
Oct 2007- Italy- Monsignor Tommaso Stenico has told the Associated
Press that he is the Vatican official suspended after an elaborate sting
conducted by a private Italian television network to expose gay priests.
The network hired a man to contact a handful of priests on the Internet
and then secretly film their meetings.
Stenico
was anonymous, but was reportedly identified by his voice and the appearance of
his office in the background. In one conversation, the priest identified as
Stenico is reportedly heard on camera saying he doesn't believe homosexual sex
is a sin. There are no allegations that sex took place
In an
interview with the Rome daily La Repubblica, Stenico said he was only pretending
to be gay as part of his work as a psychotherapist. "It's all false. It was a
trap," Stenico said. "I was a victim of my own attempts to contribute to
cleaning up the church with my psychoanalyst work.
The
Vatican moved quickly to suspend Stenico while it conducts its investigation. A
Vatican spokesman said the case is being handled "with the utmost reserve.
Homosexual tendencies are not considered a sin in the Catholic Church, though
homosexual sex is.
Homosexuality in the priesthood has not been a big issue in Europe, but Vatican
reporter Marco Politi said that may be changing. "Until now, the church has had
to deal with this abroad, " he said. "Now, they have to face it inside Italy.
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