(LifeSiteNews) — Fr. Gerald Murray has called on Pope Leo to remove Cardinal Víctor Fernández from his position following the revelation of more pornographic books written by the prefect of the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF).
In the latest episode of the “Prayerful Posse” with Raymond Arroyo, Fr. Murray blasted Fernández, saying that “this is a total disgrace.”
“Fernandez has demonstrated he is completely unsuited to be a pastor of souls because he is doing things that pornographers do,” the canon lawyer said.
“This is a horrendous production done by a priest,” he added.
When Pope Francis made Fernández the head of the DDF in 2023, some texts by the Argentinian bishop were criticized for containing pornographic imagery, specifically a book called Heal Me with Your Mouth: The Art of Kissing and Mystical Passion: Spirituality and Sensuality, published in 1995.
Last week, the Catholic blogger El Wanderer from Fernández’s native Argentina revealed other books written by the head of the DDF that contain content deemed as pornographic, including, for instance, descriptions of sexual pleasure. The books are called Why Can’t I Finish Healing? (2002), Spiritual Theology: Spiritual Depth in Action (2005), and To Free Yourself from Anxiety and Impatience (2009).
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“When these earlier books came out, Pope Francis kind of justified it [by saying] they were writings as a younger priest, etc.,” Fr. Murray said.
However, he noted the newly revealed books by the DDF chief were written years after Heal Me with Your Mouth.
“If we were doing a profile, a criminal profile, about a sex abuser, and I’m not saying he is a sex abuser, but if you saw this literature coming out and you would say to yourself, ‘Well, it’s quite clear that the sex abuser got started a long time ago.’”
“He’s doing things that nobody should do as a priest. I’m totally disgusted.”
“He should be fired,” Fr. Murray concluded. “This is going to be a benchmark for Pope Leo. This man should be fired. He is unsuited.“
