The 2010 Vatican employee sex scandal was an incident in March 2010 in which two part-time employees of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

, a consultant who also served as a lay attendant of the pope and another who was a professional member of the Saint Peter's Choir, were reported in the press to be part of a homosexual

male prostitution Male prostitution is the act or practice of men providing sexual services in return for payment. It is a form of sex work. Although clients can be of any gender, the vast majority are older males looking to fulfill their sexual needs. Male pro ...

ring. The

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

considers prostitution and homosexual acts to be gravely sinful offenses and the Vatican severed its connections with both men, one of whom had been arrested.

Incident

Italian engineering executive Angelo Balducci was reportedly involved with pimping a Nigerian

Cappella Giulia The Cappella Giulia, officially the Reverend Musical Chapel Julia of the Sacrosanct Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican, is the choir of St. Peter's Basilica that sings for all solemn functions of the Vatican Chapter, such as Holy Mass, ...

member, Thomas Chinedu Ehiem, for the services of male prostitutes as part of a local prostitution ring. Balducci had been a Papal Gentleman since 1995 and had served as senior adviser to the

Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: * Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administr ...

, responsible for the management of the Roman Catholic church's missionary activities around the globe. Ehiem had met Balducci more than 10 years before the scandal and had become acquainted with him through an Italian friend. A

wiretap Telephone tapping (also wire tapping or wiretapping in American English) is the monitoring of telephone and Internet-based conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitorin ...

by police allegedly caught Balducci negotiating with Ehiem, a then 29-year-old Vatican

chorister A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

, with Balducci giving physical descriptions of men he wanted brought to him. One of the men was described as "two metres tall … 97 kilos … aged 33, completely

active Active may refer to: Music * ''Active'' (album), a 1992 album by Casiopea * Active Records, a record label Ships * ''Active'' (ship), several commercial ships by that name * HMS ''Active'', the name of various ships of the British Royal ...

." In various taped conservations, Ehiem had also been recorded saying "I have a situation from Naples", "I have a situation from Cuba", "a German who just arrived from Germany", "two black guys", "the soccer player" and "the dancer for the

RAI RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...

Investigation and response

In March 2010, this escalated into a national scandal in Italy when wiretaps and police documents were published in the Italian newspaper ''

La Repubblica ''la Repubblica'' (; the Republic) is an Italian daily general-interest newspaper. It was founded in 1976 in Rome by Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso (now known as GEDI Gruppo Editoriale) and led by Eugenio Scalfari, Carlo Caracciolo and Arnol ...

'' which indicated that Ehiem had been in regular contact with Balducci, and that the main subject of their conversation was "gay sex". Ehiem reportedly said about Balducci, "He asked me if I could procure other men for him. He told me he was married and that I had to do it in great secrecy." A report by the

Italian Police Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

investigating the affair for prosecutors in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

concluded about Balducci's life: "In order to organise casual encounters of a sexual nature, he availed himself of the intercession of two individuals who, it is maintained, may form part of an organised network, especially active in

ome Ome may refer to: Places * Ome (Bora Bora), a public island in the lagoon of Bora Bora * Ome, Lombardy, Italy, a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Brescia * Ōme, Tokyo, a city in the Prefecture of Tokyo * Ome (crater), a crater on Mars Tran ...

of exploiters or at least facilitators of male prostitution." Balducci was one of four men arrested for alleged involvement in the prostitution racket and hired lawyer Franco Coppi. Balducci had been earlier arrested on 10 February 2010, suspected of "involvement in widespread corruption", "an organised network ... to abet male prostitution". Balducci's lawyer Coppi stated that it was a "shameful" act for newspapers to publish conversations which were unrelated to the investigation and stated that he and Balducci had "laughed" when they heard of the allegations. Ehiem was dismissed from the choir after having been a member for 19 years. He accused the

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

s of "ruining his life". CBS News consultant Father Thomas Williams stated that the Vatican had severed its ties with both men and described the situation as "really a sordid affair". He said: "You do the best you can to screen these people. But there are 150 of these men that serve as ushers as Gentlemen to His Holiness. And it's hard to know exactly what they're doing in their private lives. They don't live in Vatican City, they have their jobs and their families, and they have other things going on, as well".

References

{{reflist Male prostitution 2010 scandals LGBT and Catholicism Prostitution in Europe Religious controversies in Italy Catholic Church sexual abuse scandals in Vatican City Roman Catholic Clergy sexuality

Incident

Investigation and response

See also

References