The rector sent the priests home | Photo: Unsplash/Josh Applegate
Two seminarian priests studying at the Irish College in Rome were sent home to Ireland after being found in bed together.
According to reports, the two men were drinking earlier at an event for the 50th anniversary of Pope Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae. When the rector found them, they were promptly sent home.
A spokesman for the Catholic bishops said it was not ‘appropriate’ to discuss individuals regarding the situation.
It is unclear if either man will be allowed to continue their training and studies to become priests.
An ongoing issue for the Catholic Church
This is not the first time Irish members of the Catholic Church have been reprimanded for these types of actions.
In August 2016, St. Patrick’s College in Maynooth faced a series of sexual harassment allegations. There was also a culture conducive to gay sex and using the app Grindr.
This development is what led members of the church to start sending seminarians to the Irish College in Rome.
Not long after the allegations surfaced, the Catholic Church in Ireland revisited their own social media policy. They also searched trainees’ phones to make sure no one was using Grindr.
H/t: Irish Times
