Sex at the Vatican: Fun with Google Translate

Google 'translates' a story from a leading Italian newspaper.

Plainfield Today readers may or may not be intrigued by the uses of Google's online translation service, but it came to mind after Olddoc recently posted a translation of a Russian spam email he had received. Though clunky, the translation managed to get the point across.

Listening to the news on the car radio a couple of days ago, there was a brief report that a high Vatican lay official had been arrested in a gay prostitution ring involving a Nigerian singer in a choir from St. Peter's Basilica acting as the man's pimp.

Googling when I got back home, it turns out the story is much more complicated -- though not necessarily less salacious -- than the radio brief made it sound.

Turns out the official, one Angelo Balducci, was chiefly a high-ranking national Italian public works official who was busted after an intense corruption investigation by the Carabinieri into the ballooning costs of construction related to a G8 summit, which more than doubled from €290 million to €600 million.

Balducci was also 'a Gentleman of His Holiness', an elite lay position at the Vatican that involves acting as an usher to heads of state and other dignitaries being granted audiences with the Pope, and ceremonial duties when the Pope participates in ceremonies at St. Peter's Basilica.

The gay sex ring angle was a sidebar, uncovered in the thousands of hours of phone taps. But, the Italian press being the Italilan press (or is it the American press being the American press?), the side story soon got front page headlines of its own.

The thread on the Google search ran like this --

The top result was a story on the Huffington Post ("Vatican hit by gay sex scandal"), which linked to a story in the Irish Times ("Papal aide linked to Vatican gay prostitution ring").

The second link was to the staid old 'grey lady', the New York Times ("Vatican enmeshed in gay sex allegations"). The Times mentioned, with a link to, a report in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica ("Balducci, nuova ipotesi di reato spunta l'ombra della prostituzione gay").

Having very little facility with Italian, I took a page from Olddoc and turned to Google Translate (see the service here).

It's a very simple setup. You cut and paste whatever text you want translated into a little box, then select the 'from' and 'to' language chooices and hit 'translate'. Google's 'translation' appears in another box below the original, and is available for you to cut and paste for use as you wish.

I put 'translation' in quote marks, because it is a very literal word-for-word rendering, but you can get the gist.

As for the Vatican sex story, the translation struck me as unintentionally hilarious -- partly due no doubt to Google, but also partly due to what Italian journalists find of interest to include in a story.

I am reproducing the Italian article and the translation below. (WARNING: THIS IS ADULT CONTENT.)

From La Repubblica --

Su Balducci l' ombra della prostituzione gay
Repubblica — 03 marzo 2010 pagina 10 sezione: CRONACA

ROMA - La catastrofe senza fine di Angelo Balducci, ex presidente del Consiglio nazionale dei lavori pubblici, perno e anima della "cricca", detenuto dal 10 febbraio, conosce un ennesimo passaggio istruttorio che adombra una nuova e diversa ipotesi di reato: favoreggiamento e sfruttamento della prostituzione maschile. E che porta in Vaticano, lì dove documenta traffici di giovani ragazzi presentati, talvolta, come seminaristi e identifica un "religioso" nigeriano del "coro di san Pietro" il cui solo mestiere sembra essere recuperare, pronta consegna, la merce per l'ingegnere "Gentiluomo di sua Santità", classificandola per altezza, peso, colore della pelle e misure anatomiche.

É una storia raccolta in 72 pagine di intercettazioni (da ieri depositate a Perugia a disposizione delle difese), che un'informativa della sezione Anticrimine di Firenze del Ros dei carabinieri datata 5 febbraio 2010 riassume, nel suo incipit, in poche burocratiche righe, abbozzando un'ipotesi di reato per la quale la Procura di Perugia, al momento, non ha ancora deciso se procedere con un'indagine stralcio. "Nell'ambito del procedimento penale in oggetto - si legge - è emerso che l'ingegner Balducci Angelo, per organizzare incontri occasionali di tipo sessuale, si avvale dell'intermediazione di due soggetti, che si ritiene possano far parte di una rete organizzata, operante soprattutto nella capitale, di sfruttatori o comunque favoreggiatori della prostituzione maschile"

I due uomini hanno un'identità. Un tipo che si fa chiamare "Mike", ma di nome fa Chinedu Thomas Ehiem, 40 anni, nigeriano, residente a Roma e "indicato all'anagrafe come "religioso"". E tale Lorenzo Renzi, veneto di Feltre, che di anni ne ha 33. Dall'aprile del 2008 al gennaio scorso, il contenuto delle loro conversazioni con Balducci viene annotato e trascritto perché, rapidamente, quella che all'inizio appare la libera e insindacabile inclinazione sessuale di un uomo (come tale oggetto di inviolabile privacy), si trasforma rapidamente in una coazione a ripetere di appuntamenti che svelano una rete di prostituzione maschile e di potenziale ricatto.

Ehiem e Renzi sono espliciti nei dettagli con cui ragguagliano il cliente su tipo di prestazione e qualità dei ragazzi da portare agli incontri. "Angelo... Io non ti dico altro. É alto 2 metri, per 97 chili, 33 anni, completamente attivo", spiega il "religioso" a Balducci in un format che si ripete e che varia solo nelle misure. E poi e ancora, ogni due, tre giorni: "Ho una situazione di Napoli". "Ho una situazione cubana". "Ho un tedesco appena arrivato dalla Germania". "Ho due neri". "Ho il calciatore". "Ho uno dell'Abruzzo". "Ho il ballerino Rai".

L'ingegnere alle proposte dei due non sembra resistere. Sia che lo raggiungano mentre è in riunione a palazzo Chigi. Sia che lo sorprendano mentre è in udienza privata con un cardinale. I ragazzi, per quel che si comprende, spesso frequentano i seminari o i collegi ecclesiastici di Roma ("Lui poi a che ora deve ritornare in Seminario?", chiede Balducci a Ehiem). Altre volte appaiono extracomunitari in cerca di permesso di soggiorno (Balducci, in un caso, promette di attivarsi con il Ministero dell'Interno). Ragazzi a cui, il 6 dicembre scorso, Renzi spiega così il lavoro: "Te li pigli pure 2000 euro. Non rompere il cazzo!! Ti servono i soldi... metti un po' di musica, tiri fuori la (...)... ti cali il Viagra lì. E via!".

And the Google 'translation' --

At Balducci 's shadow of gay prostitution

Repubblica - 03 March 2010 page 10 section: CHRONICLE

ROME - The endless disaster of Angelo Balducci, a former president of the National Council of Public Works, pivot and soul of the "clique", held from February 10, knows a complete rewrite of investigations that foreshadows a new and different idea of crime: aiding and exploitation male prostitution. And that leads to the Vatican, where there documented trafficking of young boys have, at times, such as seminars and identifies a "religious" Nigerian "choir of St. Peter," whose only job seems to be recovering, prompt delivery, the goods for the engineer "Gentleman of His Holiness", classified by height, weight, skin color and anatomical measures.

It is a story collected in 72 pages of interceptions (since yesterday filed in Perugia at the disposal of defense), that disclosure of the anti-crime section of Florence carabinieri del Ros dated February 5, 2010 summarizes in his opening words, in a few bureaucratic lines, sketching assumption of an offense for which the prosecutor of Perugia, at the time, has not yet decided whether to proceed with an investigation excerpt. "As part of the criminal proceedings in question - the law - showed that the engineer Angelo Balducci, for organizing casual encounters of a sexual nature, makes use of two intermediary entities, which are thought to be part of an organized network, operates mainly in the capital, or otherwise facilitators of exploiters of prostitution masculine

The two men have an identity. A guy who calls himself "Mike", but the name is Ehiem Chinedu Thomas, 40, Nigerian, resident in Rome and "born indicated as" religious ". And that Lorenzo Renzi, Veneto Feltre, who has 33 years. From April 2008 to January, the contents of their conversations with Balducci is recorded and transcribed so, rapidly, that at first seems unquestionable sexual orientation and freedom of a man (as the subject of inviolable privacy), is transformed quickly in a repetition compulsion of events which reveal a network of male prostitution and blackmail potential.

Ehiem and Renzi are explicit in the details which will inform the customer about the type of performance and quality of the boys to take to meetings. "Angel ... I will not tell you more. 2 meters tall, for 97 pounds, 33 years, fully active," explains the "religious" in Balducci's in a format that repeats and varies only in the measures. And then again, every two or three days: "I have a situation in Naples." "I have a Cuban situation." "I have a German recently arrived from Germany." "I have two blacks." "I have the player." "I have one of Abruzzo. "I am a dancer Rai.

The engineer of the proposals of the two does not seem to resist. Whether you join them while in a meeting at Palazzo Chigi. Whether you surprised him while in a private audience with Cardinal. The boys, for what we understand, often attend seminars or ecclesiastical colleges of Rome ( "He then who must now return to the seminary?" Asked Balducci to Ehiem). Other times they appear in search of non-residence permit (Balducci, in one case, promises of employment with the Ministry of Interior). Boys who, on 6 December, Renzi explains the work: "I'll Take, therefore € 2000. Do not break his cock! You need the money ... put a little 'music, you take out the (... ) ... you drop the Viagra there. And so on.

By today, all this was of course old news and a Google search of 'vatican+sex' turned up an entirely new selection of news stories -- now highlighting a sex scandal involving abuse of choristers in Germany's Regensburg Cathedral, where the Pope's brother was the longtime choral director.

What's wrong with this picture?

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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