For decades, monasteries and seminaries in France sent novices and students to Monsignor Tony Anatrella, a prominent priest who is best remembered for having written anti-gay guidelines, if church superiors found that the young men were “suffering from homosexuality”. Anatrella, who has in the past argued that gay men should not be ordained as priests, is currently facing multiple allegations of having engaged in sexual intercourse with several male seminarians under his care.

If these charges are found to be true, the scandal could have repercussions all the way to the Vatican, where Anatrella continues to be consulted on matters of sexuality. The charges against Anatrella started to emerge as the Catholic Church in France found itself embroiled in a crisis over allegations that senior churchmen were shielding priests even after receiving reports about them having molested children. Anatrella fueled that controversy earlier this year by instructing newly appointed bishops at a certain Vatican-funded course not to feel obliged to report alleged abusers to authorities even if they are eventually placed in countries where the law requires such crimes to be reported. At the time, the Vatican was quick to respond, saying Anatrella’s comments did not change the Church’s policy on reporting such crimes.

Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley, head of Pope Francis’ new Commission for the Protection of Minors, issued a statement saying, “Beyond the requirements of civil law, all members of the church have a moral and ethical responsibility to report suspected abuse to the civil authorities who are charged with protecting our society.”

Still, allegations that Anatrella himself has engaged in sexual misconduct pose significant threat to the priest, who also identifies as a therapist. Such allegations against him were first leveled almost 10 years ago. So far, only four men have come forward to share their stories and only one of them has agreed to be identified by his real name. All of them described how Anatrella engaged in different sexual acts while counseling them in his Paris office. Reportedly, the offences continued to take place up until a few years ago.

“You’re not gay, you just think that you are,” Anatrella reportedly told Daniel Lamarca, who was a 23-year-old seminarian when he first went to the priest in 1987.

Dutch journalist Hendro Munsterman, who first reported Lamarca’s abuse for Nederlands Dagblad, detailed how Anatrella guaranteed Lamarca that he would rid him of his “pseudo-sexuality” by performing various sex acts on him.

“I know details about Anatrella’s body that could only be known to someone who has seen him naked,” Lamarca had told Nederlands Dagblad.

Apparently, Lamarca reported these incidents to the archbishop of Paris in 2001, the now deceased Cardinal Jean Marie Lustiger, but no action was taken against Anatrella, as he continued to exploit his position of power. In 2006, Lamarca took his complaint to a liberal lay-run Catholic periodical called Golias, as the publication had managed to track down two other individuals with similar accusations that year. However, since the case involved adults and wound up pitching their words against Anatrella’s, civil authorities refused to press charges against the priest. Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, who had already succeeded Lustiger by that time, reportedly sent an email to all priests in the order to express his support for Anatrella. Even though accusations from former patients continued to surface, they did not change Vingt-Trois’ opinion, as he accused a “gay lobby” of targeting Anatrella.

In May this year, another former seminarian, who refused to reveal his identity, said Anatrella counseled him for 14 years, starting from 1997. After the first few years, the priest allegedly started to conduct “special sessions” during which the two of them engaged in mutual masturbation. It is not clear exactly how many of these cases had already been reported in 2006. Anatrella has not yet commented on the new allegations.

On May 13, the Archdiocese of Paris released a statement, confirming that in 2014, Vingt-Trois had in fact received a written complaint from a former patient of Anatrella’s, who too accused the therapist of having sexually abused him. Apparently, Vingt-Trois responded to the patient, saying the church could not pursue his case, as he was not willing to reveal his identity. Additionally, the archdiocese said last month that it had received more reports of allegations concerning Anatrella.

“Because he could not act on the basis of anonymous third-party statements, the cardinal asked the priest to encourage the accusers to make personal contact (with the archdiocese) and lodge a formal complaint,” read the church’s statement.

“Any person who has been a victim of sexual aggression (or their parents in the case of minors) should personally contact the archdiocese to report it. They will be received and listened to, counseled on what to do next, and urged to file a complaint with the judicial authorities.

Any person knowing “facts that justify a complaint or denunciation should also report them to civil authorities.”

Even though Anatrella has been a prominent figure in France for decades, his controversial views gained him the global spotlight in 2005, when he helped the Vatican craft guidelines aimed at excluding gay men from attaining priesthood. Writing in the Vatican daily L’Osservatore Romano at the time, Anatrella stated that homosexuality is not only “an incompleteness” but also a “profound immaturity of human sexuality”. Labeling gays as narcissists, the priest referred to homosexuality as a problem in the psychic pattern of a person’s sexuality. He also cited “theological reasons” to explain why the Roman Catholic Church could only ordain men “mature in their masculine identity”. He had also provided a long list of warning signs to help alert straight seminary staff of potentially gay colleagues.

Anatrella continues to offer advice to the pontifical councils for family and health care ministries. In February, he even organized a large conference at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, addressing the subject of priestly celibacy.

Photo Credits: LGBTQ Nation