The Swiss Guard. Never heard of them? They're the special protection unit assigned to the Holy See. Their job is to make sure nothing happens to the Pope. These guys are truly men's men -- maybe even more than originally thought.
When you're chosen as Pontiff, it means you have 1.21 billion followers. That's the size of the Catholic Church and the pope's their head guy, hands down -- at least here on planet Earth. In the more heavenly area, there's a bit more competition -- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. But here in flesh and blood, there's one guy -- and currently he's Pope Francis. And his safety is in the hands of a studly, special regiment -- the Swiss Guard.
Over the past few years rumors began echoing through the halls of the Vatican about this select squad and its involvement with Pope Francis's predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI. In a relatively rare move, the former pontiff decided to step aside and make room for the new guy, Francis. This doesn't happen too often. Generally Popes die in office. But not with Benedict. The last pope to step down was way back nearly 600 years ago. He was Pope Gregory XII and his resignation was dated in 1417, so it's truly a rarity.
It does lead you to ponder what made Pope Benny decide to give up the vast power and authority of the high office and what role did the Swiss Guard play in it? That's a good question, and we're going to get there. But first, scholars are now indicating that it has to do with their power in the palace... and influence in the boudoir.
Via The Daily Beast:
For more than a year now, there has been ample talk around Rome about a powerful gay lobby at work inside the Vatican. When Pope Benedict XVI resigned in February 2013, rumors were rampant that the alleged gay lobby was part of the reason he left the papacy.
Holy cow, or Holy sh**! A gay lobby in the Roman Catholic Church? Why that's unheard of... that's usually reserved for the American archdiocese. Do you mean to say it's not just an American thing? It's spread to H.Q.?
Apparently the gay lobby was so powerful it was given ample ink in a still-secret red-covered dossier presented to Benedict as part of a Vatileaks internal investigation after his butler was convicted of stealing his private papers.
Wow, secret red covered dossiers with information about the Pope's private papers, or were these papers about the Pope's use of his privates?
How big is this cabal of gays and why do they have so much influence in the Vatican today? Well, part of the reveal comes from Pope Francis himself, soon after his swearing-in ceremonies:
The new Pope Francis even referred to the gay lobby at a June 6 meeting with Latin American prelates. “In the Curia there are holy people, truly holy people,” Francis reportedly told the Latin American delegation. “But there is also a current of corruption, also there is, it is true … They speak of a ‘gay lobby,’ and that is true, it is there.”
Now we've got it from the Holy Man himself. There's a gay lobby. Who'd have thunk it, among the Roman Catholic Church? I don't personally have any problem with that. I live in a country where there's a Tea Party lobby and I fear they're far more dangerous than the LGBT community.
Fresh allegations now point to the lobby extending deep into the Swiss Guard, the pope’s elite protective security force, who are known for their striped yellow, red, orange and blue Renaissance uniforms. The elite troops are specially trained Swiss soldiers between the age of 19 and 30.
Nothing like playing into stereotypes. And don't those colorful uniforms look so -- Yves St. Laurent? Certainly not Chanel or Dior but youthful, with a splash of color. Oh, and don't overlook that red, feathery headgear -- let's just say it makes a definite fashion statement.
As we accept the presence of gays being part of a lobby in the Vatican, it's just a short tap step to examining the Pope's safety. Who ya gonna call when God's spokesman's in trouble? The Swiss Guard. And who's actively filling it's membership? Why gay men, of course.
Elmar Mader, a former commander who led the elite force from 2002 to 2008, who seconded the rumors, and went one step further, telling the paper that could not “refute the claim that there is a network of homosexuals” within the Swiss Guard itself.
Maybe it's time to settle back and realize that there hasn't been an attack on a pope for five years now, and before that, you have to go back to 1981. Maybe these guys/gays are doing their job. Why shouldn't the Pope put his life in the hands of people of all types and influences? Maybe if you don't try to hide something, but rather understand it, you'll find that "problem" may become a solution and perhaps even save your life.
Francis is openly giving it a shot. Isn't it time for the rest of his flock around the world, those 1.2 billion Catholic followers, to shed the coils of intolerance and say, "welcome to the club?"
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