The Vatican, on Saturday, fired a
senior priest, Krzysztof Charamsa, who publicly came out as gay on the
eve of a major meeting of church leaders to discuss the Church’s stance
on social issues such as divorce and homos*xuality.
A statement by a spokesman for Pope
Francis described the Polish priest’s action as “very serious and
irresponsible,” adding that he would be immediately sacked from his post
as a theologian in the Vatican.
The statement read, “The decision to make
such a pointed statement on the eve of the opening of the synod appears
very serious and irresponsible, since it aims to subject the synod
assembly to undue media pressure.”
Charamsa, who is a mid-level official in
the Vatican bureaucracy’s dealing with church doctrine, flanked by his
Spanish boyfriend while donning his priest’s collar, on Saturday, had
earlier told a news conference in Rome that he was compelled to speak
out against the “hypocrisy and paranoia” that he said had shaped the
Church’s attitude to s*xual minorities.
The 43-year-old priest said, “I’m out of
the closet, and I’m very happy about that. I want to be an advocate for
all s*xual minorities and their families who have suffered in silence.”
He presented a 10-point “liberation
manifesto” against “institutionalised homophobia in the Church,” which
he said particularly oppressed the gay men who, according to him, make
up the majority of priests.
He also revealed plans for a book about
his 12 years at the heart of a Vatican bureaucracy, only just recovering
from a scandal under previous Pope Benedict XVI over the influence of a
“gay lobby” among senior clergy.
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