How the Church has changed!
It’s not certainly a rarity to read about cases of corruption on Italian newspapers. The music takes all different tone when one of these cases leads to a larger scandal, involving Vatican City and a supposed ring of escort service and gay prostitution. Main starring of this story is Angelo Balducci, former head of Italian Public Works Office, recently arrested in range of criminal inquiry.
The investigation regards irregularities committed in public contracts for the organisation of main events such as Sardinian G8 meeting, which was later moved to L’Aquila after the earthquake. Balducci is also a Papal Gentleman. This type of important Papal attendants officiates a role in public ceremonies and happenings, for example welcoming diplomats and heads of state who visit the Pope.
Revealing conversations
During the last two years investigation police recorded many conversations between Balducci and Chinedu Thomas Ehiem, a 40y/o Nigerian man, nicknamed as “Mike”, member of the choir of Cappella Giulia, (a choir used in St. Peter’s Basilica during those ceremonies which don’t involve the presence of the Pope). According to the wiretaps, it seems that Ehiem was obtaining homosexual escorts to Balducci. Dialogues don’t leave any room to imagination, including details about physical descriptions and sexual availabilities of the guys: “Angelo…I got a new German one for you…2 meters tall, 97 kg, completely active”, or, “I got a Cuban one”…”I got one from Naples”…
Seminary students involved
Many times it said the escorts were illegal immigrants, prostituting themselves in change of staying permission or poor young men in need of money. However phone taps reveal that in certain cases the male prostitutes were religious seminary students: in one of the telephone conversations Balducci says “At what time he has to be back in the seminary?” This story has caused embarrassment in Vatican State, also because the title of Papal Gentleman obtained by Balducci during the pontificate of John Paul II, is a life charge and not revocable. He will keep the title but he will be “suspended” and he won’t be called anymore to officiate any role in public ceremonies in Vatican.
In the meanwhile Thomas Ehiem, the Nigerian man, has been dismissed from the St. Peter’s Choir of Cappella Giulia. Mr Balducci instead is not enjoying the comfort of any apartments in Rome: he is currently hosted by the State prison of Regina Coeli (in seclusion). But you can enjoy your Roman stay booking Apartments in Rome, the best way to stay calm and forget this corruption matter.
