Catholic priests arrested after being caught having gay sex in public
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A pair of Catholic priests in Florida were arrested after being caught performing oral sex on each other in a car in the middle of the day.
The men were reportedly so in the moment that police had to tap on the window to alert them that the officer could see what they were doing – as could everyone else, The Washington Post reported.
Rev. Diego Berrio and Rev. Edwin Giraldo Cortes, who are 39 and 30 respectively, were charged with lewd and lascivious behaviour.
A pastor from suburban Chicago, Illinois, Berrio leads a youth group which revolves around evangelising Hispanic youth in the US.
Cortes was due to return to Colombia on Wednesday after serving at a parish in Chicago, and has since been relieved of his ministry there.
Berrio has been removed from his ministry “and withdrawn his faculties to minister in the Archdiocese of Chicago, effective immediately,” according to a statement from the archbishop of Chicago.
He “will no longer serve as a priest in the archdiocese of Chicago.”
“It is our responsibility to ensure those who serve our people are fit for ministry,” the statement said.
“We take this matter very seriously and will provide updates as they become available.”
Their rented car, a Volkswagen Beetle, was parked on Ocean Drive in front of a hotel and park, and not far from a playground.
The judge Jeffrey Rosinek who oversaw their first court hearing said his major concern “was the fact that it was in public.”
“When a police officer can come and just watch, that’s a problem.”
Though Pope Francis has been using marginally more inclusive language around gay men and women, Catholic Church doctrine condemns any form of gay sex.
The current Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered” and that “under no circumstances can they be approved”.
Earlier this year, the Pope labelled trans acceptance “terrible” and said rainbow families were not legitimate.
