Anti-gay priest accused of sex with male seminarians

By Rob Howard
Associate Editor

Monsignor Tony Anatrella, a French priest who acted as a counselor to student and novice priests struggling with their sexuality, has been accused of having sex with male clients, according to Towleroad.com.

According to the website, Anatrella, “who earlier this year told new Bishops they are not obligated to report a suspected abuser to authorities – is still regularly consulted on matters of sexuality by the Vatican.”

The Religion News Service reported earlier this month that, “For years, seminaries and monasteries around France sent students and novices to Monsignor Tony Anatrella, a prominent French priest and therapist who has written disparagingly of gays, if their superiors decided the young men were struggling with homosexuality.

“Now Anatrella, who argues that gay men cannot be ordained as priests, is facing mounting allegations that he himself had sex with male clients under his care, a scandal that could have repercussions all the way to the Vatican, where the priest is still regularly consulted on matters of sexuality.

“The reports about Anatrella that have emerged in recent weeks also landed just as the Catholic Church in France has been embroiled in a crisis over charges that senior churchmen shielded priests even after they received reports that the clerics had molested children.”

Towleroad said, “One of his accusers said that Anatrella engaged in various sex acts with him in the Monsignor’s Paris office, with the activity allegedly occurring up until a few years ago. Daniel Lamarca claims Anatrella said he could rid him of his “pseudo-homosexuality” by performing sex acts.

According to Religion News Service, Lamarca added that although he reported Anatrella to the archbishop of Paris in 2001, nothing was done.

According to the French language website La Croix, “The Archbishop of Paris [Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois] acknowledges having been aware of testimony involving Fr. Tony Anatrella, accused of sexual assault, said the diocese of Paris in a statement released Friday, May 13 ‘In 2014, a priest sent to Cardinal Vingt-Trois written testimony, but anonymous, a major patient Father Anatrella. The cardinal asked the interim priest to invite this person to meet with the Official, judicial vicar of the Archbishop. To date, this person did not respond’, said the statement.”

Towleroad expanded on Anatrella’s history, saying, “In 2005, Anatrella allegedly helped the Vatican to write guidelines aimed at keeping gay men out of the priesthood.

“He wrote an article in the Vatican daily, L’Osservatore Romano, stating that homosexuality was ‘like an incompleteness and a profound immaturity of human sexuality.’ He argued that homosexuality is ‘a problem in the psychic organization’ and said that for theological reasons the Catholic Church can only ordain ‘men mature in their masculine identity.’

“He also provided a list of ‘warning signs’ that that a seminarian is gay. These included students who had trouble relating to their fathers, tended to isolate themselves, viewed themselves as victims and looked at pornography on the Internet.

“In February, he organized a conference on priestly celibacy at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.”

Complaints about Anatrella have come forward at least since 2006, according to La Croix, “The priest had been the subject of similar charges in 2006, following the filing of a complaint. But justice had finally closed the case, and the Diocese of Paris has never opened a canonical investigation of the priest.”

Cardinal Vingt-Trois plans to address the issue of pedophilia in the Paris diocese, according to La Croix:  “The diocese of Paris announced that Cardinal Vingt-Trois will present on June 3rd during a meeting with all the priests of the capital, a ‘device’ against pedophilia in Paris. These measures will be the implementation of decisions of the Bishops' Conference of France, announced on 12 April.

“The statement also specifies that ‘any victim of a sexual assault (or their parents in case of minors) is encouraged to appear in person at the diocese.’ Catholic leaders state that all victims will be ‘received and heard.’"

It will be advised on the follow-up, and encouraged to file complaints and involve the judicial authorities, according to the website.

“These decisions were announced following a meeting of the council of priests of the diocese ‘primarily devoted to cases of pedophilia in the Church.’"

The Gayly – May 30, 2016 @ 1:50 p.m. Copyright 2016 The Gayly.