Tucho’s Version of 50 Shades of Gray?

Catholics who have followed Pope Francis’ appointment of Víctor Manuel “Tucho” Fernández as head of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) are undoubtedly familiar with the controversy which erupted after it was disclosed that Tucho had authored a book entitled “Heal Me With Your Mouth. The Art of Kissing” in 1995.

But it turns out that “Heal Me” is tame in comparison to a subsequent book Tucho reportedly authored in 1998 entitled “Mystical Passion, Spirituality and Sensuality.” News of this book recently became public when a copy of the text was uploaded to Internet Archive earlier this month.

After scouring the internet to confirm the accuracy of this report, we could find no other evidence of the book’s existence, with the exception of an entry at ISBNS.net. Either this is part of some elaborate hoax or someone has apparently gone to great lengths to scrub all references to the book from the web.

RELATED: Scandalous book on orgasms surfaces from Cardinal Fernández

The book reads like a version of 50 Shades of Gray. Some generous soul went to the trouble of translating several chapters of the book from Spanish to English which can be read here. But BE FOREWARNED – the graphic nature of this pornographic prose will undoubtedly offend many of our readers.

Given the level of scrutiny undergone by candidates appointed to major positions at the Vatican, we find it highly unlikely that the Vatican was unaware of this book prior to Tucho’s assignment to the DDF. Perhaps this news, if true, will be enough to force Tucho from his post.

TAKE ACTION: If you wish to provide feedback to the Vatican after reading this story, we recommend contacting Christophe Cardinal Pierre, the U.S. Papal Nuncio.