Vatican police reportedly found drugs
and men involved in gay sex when they raided a cardinal's apartment
owned by the Vatican.
According to Italian daily Il
Fatto Quotidiano, which first reported the incident, the raid
took place in late June and resulted in the arrest of an aide to a
key adviser to Pope Francis.
Police reportedly raided the apartment
of Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio, the president of the Vatican's
Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, and arrested
Coccopalmerio's secretary, whom Coccopalmerio had recommended for a
promotion to bishop. In his position, Coccopalmerio is charged with
interpreting the laws of the Roman Catholic Church.
It was unclear what charges the aide is
facing. He reportedly was moved to a “retreat at a convent in
Italy” after a brief hospital stay to detox from the drugs he had
used.
The home is owned by the Vatican's
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which guides the Church's
response to claims of sexual abuse.
Pope Francis was “enraged,”
according to the newspaper.
Just last month, Cardinal
George Pell returned to Australia to face charges of child sex abuse.
Pell is a top adviser to the pope and the highest-ranking church
official to face such charges.