There is a new scandal involving Catholic priests this week after the Italian magazine showed priests partying at gay bars and having casual sex.

The three priests were photographed by Panorama Magazine after reporters crashed the parties. Two of the priests are Italian and one is French. One priest named Carlo is accused of putting on his cassock to have sex at the request of the reporter’s gay accomplice and that they attended a mass celebrated by Carlo.

The story should raise some issues of media ethics as well as some legal issues. First, is it appropriate for a reporter to enlist friends to engage in sex with a subject of the investigation? The magazine is owned by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi — an ironic twist given Berlusconi’s own problems with the photos of a naked party with girls and powerful friends.

Second, in the United States, there would be a question of an intrusion upon seclusion and the publication of private facts. The latter has an exception for matters that are a “legitimate concern to the public.” The former does not. Of course, if these are public bars or acts, it would be difficult to make such a claim.

Source: Daily Mail