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	Vatican Official Suspended in Homosexual Scandal Catholic World News October 15, 2007 http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=54159 Vatican — An Italian priest serving in the Roman Curia has been suspended after a television broadcast videotapes in which the cleric made homosexual advances at another man. Msgr. Tomasso Stenico confirmed to reporters that he had been suspended from his position in the Congregation for the Clergy. But the Italian priest insisted that he is not an active homosexual, despite the evidence supplied by the television broadcast. The "Exit" program that aired on Italy's La7 network on October 1 captured a priest inviting a young man to engage in intimacies, saying that he did not consider homosexual acts sinful. Although the priest's face was obscured in the television broadcast, his voice and his office were recognizable, and Msgr. Stenico did not attempt to deny that he was the cleric on the film. The suspended Vatican official claimed, however, that the tape did not tell the full story. He told reporters that he was investigating the influence of homosexuals on the priests of Rome and had become a "crook among the crooks" in his quest to gain more information about clerical corruption. Msgr. Stenico also complained that the videotape was "fraudulent" because he did not know that his conversation with the young man was being recorded. And he said that he was the victim of a "diabolical plan" to discredit honest priests. The videotape of Msgr. Stenico was made by La7 with the cooperation of a young man who carried a concealed video camera. The TV reporter said that he arranged a meeting with the Vatican official after contacting him through an internet chat room for homosexuals. Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Vatican press office, said that he "could not deny" the reports about Msgr. Stenico's suspension. He declined further comment, saying only that Church authorities would take appropriate disciplinary action.
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