Vatican Fires Gay Priest Who Came Out

The Vatican has fired a priest that came out as gay in public interviews and admitted that he had a partner, a violation of the vows of celibacy that all priests in the Catholic Church must take.

Monsignor Krzysztof Charamsa, 43-years-old, was fired from his position at the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, which writes official doctrine, according to Reuters. Charamsa, who is Polish, was also fired from his positions teaching theology at religious universities in Rome.

Charamsa came out just before the church's international gathering of bishops, or synod, to discuss doctrine, priorities, and the way forward for the church. The issue of homosexuality is particularly sensitive, as Pope Francis has tried to steer the church away from its strong focus on the issue and other issues like gay marriage and abortion.

In a statement, the Church said that Charamsa's timing of his decision to come out only threatend the church's unity and promised to bring excessive media attention to the synod. Charamsa had also planned a demonstration outside the Vatican, but changed the location at the last minute.

The issue of gay rights became a major topic of discussion in the United States when it was revealed that Pope Francis briefly met with Kim Davis while in Washington D.C. Davis, a court clerk from Kentucky, has become an icon of resistance to gay marriage when she was jailed for refusing to give marriage certificates to homosexual couples.

Many commentators said that the meeting showed the pope was not sincere about trying to create a more open and welcoming church. However, it was later revealed that before meeting with Davis, the pope also met with a gay couple and spent some time with them as well.