Vatican rocked by another sex scandal

First:

Pope's brother to testify on sex abuseGeorg Ratzinger will testify on sex abuse scandal rocking German Catholics.

Second:

From Examiner:

A police investigation into corruption at the Vatican has taken a twist with the discovery of an organised network of male prostitution. So far a senior aide to the Pope and a Vatican chorister have been removed from their posts over allegations of involvement in the homosexual prostitution ring.

The allegations were made public when Italian newspapers published transcripts of phone calls recorded by police. Police had been conducting an unrelated corruption investigation. Apparently the tapes record Angelo Balducci, a Gentleman of His Holiness, negotiating with Thomas Chinedu Ehiem, a 29-year-old Nigerian Vatican chorister, about men he wanted brought to him for sexual purposes.

Balducci held a high position within the Vatican and carried the coffin of Pope John Paul at his 2005 funeral. He has now lost his position as a Gentleman of the Holiness. The taped conversations include Balducci describing precise physical details of the men he desired.

Balducci was a member of one of the world's most exclusive fraternities – the Gentlemen of His Holiness, or Papal Gentlemen, the ceremonial ushers of the papal household.

The scandal is just the newest scandal in a seemingly never ending series of scandals involving the Catholic Church. There is no telling how extensive the prostitution ring is within the Vatican, or what, if any knowledge, Pope Benedict XVI had of the nefarious activities taking place within his household.

The scandal is yet another indication of the corruption and moral hypocrisy which surrounds the Pope, and permeates the Catholic Church.