" 
 :I'm afraid you're missing the point (deliberately?) It doesn't matter whether Luther knew for a fact or not that Leo was homosexual. What is important is that he believed it to be the case that the pope and cardinals engaged in sodomy - and thus did not deserve the obedience of the German people. I'm afraid you've treated this whole issue with ill-disguised contempt because it seemingly doesn't fit into your world view - that the papacy was established by Christ and that the holders of that office have been chosen by the holy spirit. You have failed to recognize that for the student of gay history it is indeed quite interesting to read about a historical figure that was perceived to have been homosexual - In what way did he exhibit this homosexuality? How did others react? We will never know for sure the truth about Leo's sexuality - perhaps he never fully did - but through this article we might gain a little understanding of how people that were perceived to been homosexual were regarded at this time. Leo had no mistresses and no children. Considering that his predecessors and successors pope all did, then it certainly looks extremely unusual. Is this sufficient grounds to say with certainty that he was homosexual? No. But as a Florentine he came from a state where same-sex sexual activity was regarded across Europe as being at epidemic levels. Trying to limply repeat that he was ""chaste"" is no credible defensive. And trying to pretend that homosexuality is a 20th century invention is frankly insulting. It's tiring seeing some editors play out their ""political wars"" on wikipedia.  "