The Vatican police were reported this week to have broken up a drug fueled gay orgy in an apartment that belongs to the Vatican department that is supposed to be cracking down on sex abuse in the Catholic church.
The occupant of the apartment is said to be a secretary for Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio named Luigi Capozzi. Coccopalmerio is a key advisor to the Pope. The media reported this week that the cardinal is supposed to have recommended that this aide be promoted to bishop.
It appears however that those promotion plans are going to be disrupted by the news of this gay orgy. It also is rumored that the official recently spent time in a Rome hospital recovering from a drug overdose.
In the gay orgy bust, Vatican city police were called in after neighbors began to complain of people coming and going constantly from the apartment, as well as noise.
Several theories have been put forth about who tipped off the Vatican police about the orgy. Some reports have suggested that the owner of the apartment had made a number of high-profile enemies. The local media reported that the apartment where the bust occurred was not supposed to be occupied by a low level secretary to a department head. That type of apartment is typically reserved for higher level prelates.
Discontent at the Vatican also has been simmering because Capozzi had somehow gotten his hands on a car with license plates of the Holy See. This is another privilege that is supposedly reserved for prelates. The car also could allow the owner to transport drugs without being questioned by the Italian police.
This recent gay orgy is just the latest manifestation of the gay lobby that has been rumored to exist in the Vatican for years. This gay lobby allegedly is a group of homosexuals in the Vatican who work together to support each other’s careers and influence decisions in the Vatican bureaucracy.
Gay Orgy Only the Latest Sex Scandal for the Church
It has also been reported that the Pope is furious about the incident. These recent sex scandals have shown how the sex abuse crisis in the Catholic Church has started to catch up with the new Pope. It also threatens to damage his legacy due to a series of appointments that are being questioned, and controversial decisions in his four year papacy to date.
One of the controversies has involved the German Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, who was the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which has been handling various sex abuse claims. The Pope recently declined to renew Mueller’s mandate. His deputy, Monsignor Luis Ladaria Ferrer has been named as his replacement.
In Mueller’s five year term, it was reported that the congregation had a 2,000 case backlog and was harshly criticized by sex abuse survivors.
Another major sex scandal involves Australian Cardinal George Pell, who is facing multiple charges of sexual assault from years ago. The Pope recently granted him a leave of absence to address those allegations.
Pell has denied all of those charges, but Pope Francis still has come under scrutiny for naming him as the Vatican’s money czar in 2014. The sex abuse allegations were dogging Pell even back then. Pell also has been criticized in Australia for the mishandling of sex abuse cases when he was a bishop. He also was accused of treating sex abuse victims harshly as he was allegedly trying to protect the church from civil litigation.
Sex Crimes Can Result in Long Prison Sentences
The Catholic Church and the Vatican have been dogged by sex abuse and sex crime charges for years. Many of these cases have occurred in countries other than the US, but many have occurred here as well.
CNN reports that in 2004, children in the US accused more than 4,000 priests of sexual abuse from 1950 to 2002. Also, in 2002, former priest John Geoghan was a central figure in the major clergy sexual abuse scandals in Boston. From 1962 until 1995, Geoghan allegedly sexually abused more than 130 boys.
In the US, federal sex crimes typically involve forcing someone to engage in sex against their will. Also, sex crimes commonly involve acts against individuals who may not provide consent under the law. This includes minors and people with mental disabilities who cannot provide legal consent.
In many cases, sexual abuse of a person who is underage, such as may have occurred in the Catholic Church sex scandal case over the years, can result in many federal charges. One of the most serious sex crimes against minors today in the US is child pornography.
People who collude with others to produce, procure or disseminate child pornography can result in serious federal charges, including conspiracy.
People who are charged with sex abuse crimes in the US may be charged at both the state and federal levels. Under US law, every state is allowed to define what its age of consent is and may consent to engage in sexual activity. Every state has its own law on this matter, but there are still some sex crimes that can occur against some members of society that will still be federal crimes. These would include the sexual abuse of an elderly person with dementia, or the abuse of a person with mental disabilities.
People who are convicted of sex crimes in the US will generally get at least five years in prison and will probably have to be registered for life as a sex offender.