An explosive claim made by French sociologist and writer Frederic Martel alleges a majority of the Catholic priests in the Vatican Clergy are engaging in homosexual behaviour, and more than 200 members of the College of Cardinals are homosexual.
The writer goes so far as to claim the disagreements present in the church today stem from an internal battle among those who are homosexual and leading a double life and, those who are not.
According to the book, entitled “In The Closet Of The Vatican: Power, Homosexuality, Hypocrisy,” and released on February 21, many of the priests within the clergy at the Vatican have formed a gay subculture where they are more accepting of each other’s predilections.
A central thesis of Martel’s book is that cardinals and bishops who make the strongest condemnations of homosexuality are more likely to be gay themselves; he describes this as part of their attempt to cover up who they really are.
Written in a tabloid manner, the book is a thorough examination of homosexuality in the Holy See.
Over the last four years, the author spent a great deal of time travelling to 30 countries and spending time in the Vatican.
The book also had an interview with a priest who claimed roughly 80 percent of the members of the Vatican clergy are gay, although those claims are still unproven and unsubstantiated at the present.
The product of Martel’s research came from interviews with many people within the Church.
According to the book, the author sought consultations with 45 nuncios, 52 bishops, and 41 cardinals within the church, though their exact positions within the church were not noted.
One of the most shocking results from an early reading of the book suggests that Cardinal Alfonso López Trujillo, the famed consultant for family and marriage for John Paul II, was living a second life as a gay man.
He supposedly had numerous affairs with members of the clergy as well as liaisons with prostitutes who were male.
Perhaps the most significant claim of them all, aside from speaking about deceased individuals, is that Pope Francis has knowledge of these actions as well.
Thus, in Martel’s estimation, the power struggles seen in the Church today are often along lines of those who are “in the parish”, meaning gay, and those who are not.
Presently, the fact remains there is no way to prove Martel’s claims, but they are likely to be vehemently denied. Either way, the book is generating interest and will certainly be addressed as time goes on.
I take everything with a grain of salt, but if only a fraction of this is true…. In the closet of the Vatican https://t.co/ogz5i6Dqnj
— Bob Grip (@Bob_Grip) February 16, 2019
A symposium worth reading: In the Closet of the Vatican https://t.co/ikVqEkOxLc via @synd_network
— Elizabeth Scalia (@TheAnchoress) February 22, 2019
Resources: World Religion News/America The Jesuit Review
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