That Benedict IX had sexual relationships with men seems to be beyond reasonable doubt. In his diatribe against "sodomy" among the Catholic clergy (Liber Gomorrhianus), St. Peter Damian described him as "feasting on immorality" and "a demon from hell in the disguise of a priest". The modern researcher Lynne Yamaguchi Fletcher, in "The First Gay Pope and Other Records", rightly called Benedict IX (r. 1033-1045; 1047-1048) “the first pope known to be primarily homosexual.” Benedict’s pontificate, which was known for homosexual orgies in the Lateran Palace, “turned the Vatican into a male brothel” and was so scandalous that he was deposed, not once but twice.
