An Italian Priest Admitted to Having Orgies on Church Property

In what seems like an especially explicit episode of The Young Pope, a Catholic priest in Padua, Italy, will likely be defrocked after admitting to organizing sex parties in the rectory at his church.

According to the Independent, three women originally made complaints against Andrea Contin, a priest at the Church of St. Lazarus, regarding the orgies back in December. Now, 30-plus women have signed on to that complaint.

One woman, who claimed she also fathered a son from Contin, told investigators that the priest also encouraged her to have sex with a horse and beat her twice in the church's rectory. He was also allegedly using wife-swapping sites to lend his lovers out to other men.

Contin initially denied the allegations, but police ended up finding hard drives of porn and video evidence of the bacchanals, filmed by another priest named Roberto Cavazzana, in his possession. According to the Sun, the sex parties appeared to have taken place in the church's rectory, or clergy residence, rather than on the altar next to the crucifix or whatever. Regardless, both men reportedly admitted to the allegations and came clean to the parish's bishop, Monsignor Claudio Cipolla, last week.

"The behavior of Father Andrea was in complete contrast with the commitments he made to the church," Cipolla said at a press conference. "He had an objectionable lifestyle and, as such, is not eligible to exercise the priestly ministry. His actions have also compromised him to such an extent he can no longer represent himself as a priest, even after his repentance."

Contin also supposedly had more than 30 lovers who he took to fancy dinners and on retreats to a nudist camp in France, so the guy was keeping busy. "He always carried a briefcase full of vibrators, sex toys, masks, and bondage equipment," one of his accusers reportedly told authorities.

Of course, Catholic priests take a vow of chastity when they receive their holy orders—so he's at least guilty of breaking that rule, if not several others. Police are now investigating Contin for psychological and physical assault, as well as facilitating prostitution, although he reportedly hasn't been arrested yet.

"Even if, at the end of this affair, there are no legal consequences, we have a duty by canon law to take disciplinary action," Cipolla said, who has already started the process to get Contin defrocked.

Contin's filmmaking counterpart, Cavazzana, will likely not face expulsion from the church, Cipolla says, because his involvement was "partial and occasional," though still "unacceptable." Two other priests are also thought to have engaged in the orgies, which is almost certainly not the way the Catholic Church wants its ministers to come together.