Catholic Prelate in Gay Scandal Opposed “Civilian Legislation” that “Undermines Morals”

“I wanted to write and edit a book, a research on the problem of homosexuality in the clergy…it was merely an experiment”

Monsignor Tommaso Stenico, recently:

I am fascinated by the Magisterium of Benedict XVI…[The church] has not been wrong in opposing civilian legislation which undermines ethics and morals in a catastrophic way.*

What “civilian legislation” would that be? Stenico does not say, but this quote from the Pope obviously springs to mind:

Benedict stressed that marriage between man and woman was the cornerstone of society and not some “casual sociological construction” that could be replaced.

“It’s a serious error to obscure the value and function of the legitimate family founded on matrimony, attributing to other forms of unions improper legal recognition, for which there really is no social need,” he said.

Monsignor Tommaso Stenico, a few days ago:

The Vatican said Saturday it has suspended a monsignor from a senior post at the Holy See after an Italian TV program using a hidden camera recorded him making advances to a young man and asserting that gay sex was not sinful.

The Vatican did not identify the monsignor by name. But Monsignor Tommaso Stenico confirmed in a telephone interview with The Associated Press that he had been suspended from his post at the Vatican’s Congregation for Clergy, an office which aims to ensure proper conduct by priests.

…The man La Repubblica identified as the Vatican official can be heard saying that “he didn’t feel he was sinning” by having sex with gay men and asking his visitor if he liked him.

However, Stenico has since come up with an interesting explanation:

I’m OK. I wanted to write and edit a book, a research on the problem of homosexuality in the clergy. Because today the devil is inside the Church and the Pope is left alone. So I used the Internet and looked for gay sites. I contacted that boy and he came to see me. It would have been last July, I don’t recall exactly, but it was not a Sunday. The point is the TV channel had earned my good faith…but in substance, it was merely an experiment, a study on the subject … and I fell into a trap. I will explain all to my superiors.*

I’m sure Ted Haggard wishes he had thought of that one. No word from Mike Jones so far.

Stenico has a website, which is currently down. Details about Stenico in English are hard to come by, but he has apparently edited two volumes of Pope Benedict’s discourses. He is also a trained psychoanalyst.

*Taken from translations that have appeared on the Papa Ratzinger Forum derived from PETRUS. Italian originals here (cached version only available) and here.

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