Vatican official caught on tape speaking humanely of gays, then not so much

A priest in the Vatican participated "anonymously" in a television special on gay priests by responding to an ad on a gay S&M site and meeting with a young man who recorded their conversation. Another reason to avoid Internet dating.

The priest, who is being identified as Monsignor Tommaso Stenico, met with the young man in his office and made comments that he did not believe homosexual activity was a sin (the Church's standing is that while homosexual tendencies are not sinful, to act on them is) while being secretly filmed, as well as vague passes at the man. When Church officials learned of his comments, he was suspended and then came forth publicly to defend his comments, which he claims were part of his "psychoanalyst work" for the Church, which included understanding the hot gay S&M underworld first-hand.

The Times has the bizarre details of the double-sting (if Stenico is to be believed), noting that Stenico has been attempting to uncover a sinister plot to seduce priests into having gay sex, noting, "There are people who go after them ... I really believe there is a diabolical plan by groups of Satanists."

The AP notes that the priest has now said of his play-acting that he routinely goes undercover,

"to better understand this mysterious and faraway world which, by the fault of a few people — among them some priests — is doing so much harm to the Church."

In other words, when Stenico was in Never Neverland, Peter Pan told him to clap his hands if he believed in fairies, and so he did. Real hard.

I have a hard time believing that a high-ranking Vatican official would invite a stranger from a sex site to his office for a bondage session ... but then again, I could never have imagined what kind of things went down in the Oval Office, either. But whether Stenico's defenses are legit or not, I find it amusing that anyone, anywhere would buy that whole "Satanists" story. Has be been using the same excuse since Rosemary's Baby? Get with it, Padre: Satanists are old news. Blame the terrorists!

Whether he's lying or not, expect Monsignor Stenico/Larry Craig Vatican Bathroom Toe-Tapping Slashfic to flood the Web within the hour (not to mention the political cartoons in the New York Post).