A new book claiming to expose what the author alleges is hypocrisy from leaders of the Catholic Church over issues of homosexuality will be published next week, coinciding with the start of a much-anticipated Vatican summit to discuss the church’s ongoing problems in addressing clerical sexual abuse—leading some to worry that gay priests will be blamed for the crisis.

According to a press release from its publisher, Bloomsbury, In The Closet of the Vatican, by the French journalist Frédéric Martel, “exposes the rot at the heart of the Vatican and the Roman Catholic Church today.” Mr. Martel, also a sociologist, is reported to have spent four years conducting more than 1,500 interviews, including conversations with 41 cardinals and dozens of priests and other Vatican officials. That is according to the British journal The Tablet, which also says that the book claims 80 percent of priests working at the Vatican are gay, though not necessarily sexually active.

The central thesis of the 576-page book, according to the press release, is that “the more a prelate is homophobic, the more likely it is that he is himself gay.”

An excerpt of the French edition of the book was published in the French magazine Le Point on Feb. 13. According to that article, Mr. Martel explores attacks against Pope Francis, whom Le Point calls the “hero” of the book, but spends much more time looking at the papacies and aides of John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

The central thesis of the 576-page book, according to the press release, is that “the more a prelate is homophobic, the more likely it is that he is himself gay.”

In previous decades, a number of high-ranking Catholic officials have been at the forefront of the battle against same-sex marriage and other L.G.B.T. rights. But Pope Francis has tried to strike a more welcoming tone in recent years, upholding church doctrine on sexuality and marriage but urging the church to be less judgemental in how it approaches the L.G.B.T. community.

The Rev. James Alison, a British priest and theologian who has written extensively about sexuality and the priesthood, told America that when it comes to gay priests, “what really makes a difference is honesty.”

Father Alison, who was interviewed several times by Mr. Martel for the book, said that a system that prevents priests from being honest about their own sexuality creates conditions susceptible to scandal. Officially, gay men are barred from the priesthood, a teaching upheld as recently as 2016 by Pope Francis. But critics say the ban does not really work but instead effectively pushes gay men who still wish to be priests into the closet.

“That there is a large number of gay priests [working at the Vatican] should be neither here nor there,” he said. “The fact is that they’re in the closet in one way or another and therefore they are liable to blackmail. That’s the problem.”

Father Alison said that kind of secrecy can lead to some bishops and priests living double lives, a phenomenon that Pope Francis has repeatedly condemned, and this contributes to the financial and sexual abuse scandals that have rocked the church in recent decades.

 

In the Closet of the Vatican is due to be released in eight languages and in 20 countries on Feb. 21, the same day that the heads of bishops’ conferences from around the world begin a four-day meeting with Pope Francis in Rome, where they are expected to discuss best practices about fighting child sexual abuse.

That release date has some people concerned.

James Martin, S.J., an editor at large for America, whose essay “The Challenges and Gifts of the Homosexual Priest” was published in 2000, said he is disappointed.

“Sadly, the timing of the book’s publication makes it inevitable that the conversation around it will conflate the question of gay priests with sex abuse,” Father Martin said, adding that early reports describe the book as having “an almost impenetrable layer of gossip.”

Sean Larsen, a theologian and the managing editor of the online academic journal Syndicate, said that he sees in the early reception of the book a Rorschach test on issues of homosexuality.

“Sadly, the timing of the book’s publication makes it inevitable that the conversation around it will conflate the question of gay priests with sex abuse.”

“I do have the fear about the equivocation of pedophilia and sex abuse with homosexuality, but that equivocation only works if you see homosexuality as a problem or a scandal” to begin with, Mr. Larsen said.

Experts in the United States have said sexual orientation does not correlate with the sexual abuse of minors. While a few bishops have in recent months suggested the church look more closely at any link between a high proportion of gay priests and abuse, several high-ranking church leaders, including Pope Francis, have said a clericalist culture was to blame.

For his part, Father Alison said the secrecy required of many gay priests can make them “incapable of looking at what is going on around them,” even if they have never engaged in abusive behavior themselves.

“That’s where the book is really helpful. It points out just how mendacious the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ world is and how it sets all those involved up to be unable to deal with the truth,” he said. Referring to any priests whose behavior goes against what is expected of them, Father Alison said, “They merely need to feel blackmailable.”

As for how to “solve” the cultural challenge, Father Alison said that in theory, the fix is simple.

“It will happen when young people entering the priesthood are able to be honest about who they are and bishops are able to be honest about who they are ordaining,” he said. “At the moment, neither is possible.”

Michael J. O’Loughlin is national correspondent at America and author of Hidden Mercy: AIDS, Catholics, and the Untold Stories of Compassion in the Face of Fear.