Vatican City, Oct. 13 (AP): An Italian monsignor has been suspended from a senior position at the Holy See, the Vatican said today, identifying him as a priest who was anonymously interviewed about his gay sex life on a TV programme.

Vatican teaching holds that homosexual activity is a sin. Vatican spokesman the Reverend Federico Lombardi told journalists that while the case was under investigation, the monsignor was suspended from his job as a top official in the Vatican’s Congregation for Clergy, an office that aims to ensure proper conduct by priests.

“Higher-ups are evaluating the situation with the necessary reserve and with the obligatory respect for the person involved, even if this person has erred,” Lombardi said. Vatican officials “had to intervene decisively and with the severity required by conduct not compatible with priestly service and with the mission of the Holy See.”