Vatican: Former Pope Benedict says in his memoirs that a “gay lobby” in the Vatican had tried to influence its decisions and that he was able to “break up this power group” .
Benedict, who resigned in 2013 – the first pontiff to do so in six decades – reveals this in his memoirs which will be released on September 9.
The book, titled “The Last Conversations”, is the first time in history that a former pope judges his own administration after it is over. Excerpts from the book were published by an Italian daily on Friday.
According to the Italian daily, Benedict says that he came to know of the presence of a “gay lobby” made up of four or five people who have have joined together to bolster their careers and help influence policy put forth by the pope and church.
The Catholic Church has a long-standing opposition to homosexuality, but gay rights’ activists have been saying for some time that many gays work for the Vatican.