Priest Tricks Parishioners To Strip, Hang Upside Down & Be Whipped [View All]

[matcom]

<snip>

WHEATLAND -- Parishioners at a small-town church who took part in a secret ritual where they were stripped, hung upside down and whipped were tricked into participating by a Catholic priest seeking sexual gratification, a prosecutor said Monday.

"There's not an issue that they were doing this stuff, and there's really not much of an issue about what they were doing," Platte County Attorney Eric Alden said. "So the question is, was this trickery or is this a legitimate ritual recognized by the church?

"And the other issue was, is this somehow for sexual gratification? And there was testimony to indicate that it might have been."

But a defense attorney said those who took part in the practice more than 15 years ago may have faulty memories about intent behind the ritual, which he maintains was strictly religious.

http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2004/04/20/news/wyoming/73d80a0ce1346bd987256e7b00835738.txt