Catholic priest takes ‘leave of absence’ after he was caught sending d**k pics on Grindr
A priest who taught at a Catholic school has been forced to take a “leave of absence” after he was caught sending naked pics on Grindr.
Father Rory Coyle, a curate in Armagh, Northern Ireland, had served as chaplain for St Catherine’s College and was on the board of governors of St Malachy’s Primary School.
However, the Catholic priest was outed to his colleagues earlier this year – when it was revealed he was a user of gay hook-up app Grindr.
The 35-year-old identified himself as a “lecturer” on his Grindr profile, according to the Irish News, and failed to mention he was a Catholic priest.
The story was allegedly leaked by a young man who said the priest approached him via the app and “sent me lots of naked pics of himself”.
The student told the Thinking Catholicism blog: “He’s a total pervert… he’s just a hypocrite. Denouncing gay people from the pulpit and then shagging guys when no one is looking.”
There is no suggestion that Coyle did anything illegal.
A church spokesperson said: “Early in March, Father Rory Coyle asked Archbishop Eamon Martin for time off to obtain personal and spiritual support.
“Following this, on March 22 he asked the Archbishop to extend his leave so that he could ‘engage in a period of personal discernment and receive further help’.
“Father Coyle’s request was granted and he is currently on leave of absence”.
A former priest alleged earlier last year that the Vatican operates its own secret ‘gay cure’ clinic for Catholic priests who are caught having sex with men.
The allegations came from a Sardinian former priest who was forced out of the church after his superiors discovered he was gay.
He said: “There exists a convent where priests who manifest inappropriate sexual tendencies are sent to reflect.
“It’s a place where they help you to rediscover the straight and narrow. They wanted to ‘cure’ me but I refused to go.”
Incredibly, the Vatican confirmed it has its own in-house service at the Venturini Convent in Trento, Italy that deals with “problems connected to sex” for clergy… but denied it practices ‘gay cure’ therapy.
