Two Catholic priests arrested for having gay sex with each other in public
Two Catholic priests were reportedly arrested for having oral sex in public in Miami Beach, Florida—with one being removed from his ministry.
Diego Berrio, 39, was caught performing oral sex on Edwin Giraldo Cortes, 30, in a car parked on Ocean Drive on Monday afternoon (September 3) by police.
The pair were charged with lewd and lascivious behaviour, and Cortes was also charged with indecent exposure.
The two were reportedly caught having oral sex in a Volkswagon. (Jonathan Fickies/Getty Images)
“I parked my vehicle and approached the passenger side of the vehicle on foot,” an officer wrote in a police report, according to the Miami Herald.
“I observed defendant Berrio in the passenger seat, performing oral sex on defendant Giraldo who was seated in the driver’s seat. Giraldo’s pants were unzipped and his genitals exposed.”
The officer said the sex act occurred “in full view of the public passing by on Ocean Drive and the sidewalk.”
Derrio and Cortes both served in the Archdiocese of Chicago.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Blase J. Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, said that Derrio had been removed from serving as a pastor at Misión San Juan Diego, a church in the city’s suburbs.
“Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, has removed Fr. Berrio from ministry and withdrawn his faculties to minister in the Archdiocese of Chicago, effective immediately,” said Cupich.
The incident happened at Miami Beach, Florida. (Pixabay)
“The archdiocese will appoint an administrator for the Misión San Juan Diego as soon as possible.”
Cupich added that Cortes, who had served at the St. Aloysius Parish for a month, would not be “granted additional faculties to minister in the Archdiocese of Chicago.”
He said that Cortes’ home diocese was in Soacha, Colombia.
Cupich continued: “It is our responsibility to ensure those who serve our people are fit for ministry. We take this matter very seriously and will provide updates as they become available.”
