A former commandant of the Swiss Guard has confirmed the existence of an influential “gay lobby” within the Vatican. “I know from personal experience that the gay lobby exists,” Elmar Mäder, who was head of the Swiss Guard from 2002 to 2008, told the Swiss weekly Schweiz am Sonntag.
He was questioned about reports earlier this month, in which an unidentified member of the Swiss Guard had claimed that he had been the target of sexual advances made by a number of officials of the Roman Curia.
Mäder said that active homosexuals within the Vatican comprise a virtual “secret society.”
He added that because they are more loyal to each other than to the Holy See, “it becomes a security risk.”
In June 2013, during a conversation with religious leaders from Latin America, Pope Francis alluded to the same problem while speaking about problems within the Roman Curia.
“There is talk about a ‘gay lobby,’ and it’s true, that exists,” the Pope reportedly said.