A priest who came out as gay was fired by the Vatican today.
Krzysztof Charamsa, a mid-level official in the Vatican’s doctrine office, outed himself in interviews that were published by newspapers in Italy and Poland, reports Mashable. His timing couldn’t have been more apropos, as he chose the eve of a very important bishop’s meeting about church outreach to gays, divorcees, and Catholic families, for the articles to come out.
In the interview, he said he was happy and proud to be a gay priest and that he was in love with a man whom he called his boyfriend. The motivation to make his sexual orientation public, he said, was spurred by hate mail that he received after publicly criticizing a right-wing Polish priest who is strongly anti-gay.
“I have to say who I am,” he said. “I am a gay priest. I am a happy and proud gay priest.” Charamsa also said he wrote a book in Italian and Polish that relays his experiences as a gay priest.
Once the articles came out, Charamsa was told he could no longer work at the Vatican or its pontifical universities. He still, however, remains a priest, though a spokesman for the Vatican hinted that his superiors could take further action.
