The Vatican seems to get itself embroiled in enough scandal that they’d be inclined to not create any more trouble for themselves, but they’ve done it again. The Holy See had made a seemingly innocuous, albeit pricey, real estate purchase at €23 million ($30 million), only to find that the Rome apartment block they bought contains Europe’s largest gay bathhouse. D’oh!

The Europa Multiclub‘s entrance is so close to the living quarters of a handful of priests that it’s nearly beyond coincidence. Cardinal Ivan Dias, the head of the Congregation for Evangelisation of Peoples and one of the Cardinals participating in the election of the next Pope, is one of those who lives nearby. He’s a noted conservative, even by the standards of today’s Church, but given the hypocrisy they’re capable of it wouldn’t be surprising to find him at Europa every once in a while.

This revelation comes fresh off the heels of rumors that the previous Pope, Benedict XVI, had quit because of his connection to a network of gay Vatican officials.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Emeritus Benedict’s reviled right hand man, is thought to be the man behind the scandalous purchase.

As if there were a “good” time for a scandal to arise, this one has surfaced at a particularly bad one. The papal election takes place tomorrow at the Sistine Chapel, and those involved won’t have much time to address the stipulations of a loathsome scandal. Nevertheless, we can now take a guess at where the after-party for the papal conclave will be taking place.

In case you’re interested, the location of the Europa Multiclub can be found below: