Now the cardinals have red faces to match their red hats.
Church leaders gathering for Tuesday’s papal conclave picked up the paper to learn the Holy See is the majority owner of an apartment block that houses Italy’s largest gay bathhouse.
Even more shocking, Ivan Cardinal Dias lives in a swank 12-room apartment one floor above Europa Multiclub, and mere yards from the phallic shrubbery at the entrance of the gay Xanadu, La Repubblica reported.
Dias is known for reviling homosexuality, calling it “unnatural” and arguing that gays can be “cured.”
That cure certainly does not require taking the waters at the Europa club, which boasts a Turkish bath, Finnish sauna, whirlpools, massages, “bear parties” and much more.
“There is a lot of cruising,” said one clubgoer, who requested anonymity. “Everybody looks at each other and thinks, ‘Do I like him? Is he going to like me?’ You can go to a private room or stay where you are.”
The club’s proximity to a prince of the church was yet another reminder of the gay sex scandals that are tarnishing the cross.
Last week, Scotland’s Keith Cardinal O’Brien resigned and admitted to improper “sexual conduct.”
And weeks before Pope Benedict announced his resignation, he received a report that revealed high-ranking clergy were frequenting gay orgies at a Rome sauna, a suburban Rome villa and a beauty parlor, according to Italian reports.
It’s unclear if Europa Multiclub is that sauna — but clubgoers said church officials should not cast the first stone when it comes to the gay lifestyle.
“They should be quiet and just stick to their business: Doing prayers!” said the clubgoer. “It’s very hypocritical.”
