Who is The Priest from Story of the Eye and what is their importance?

When Simone and her male companions come upon the church of Don Juan in Seville, Simone sees a woman leaving the confessional and decides to make her own confession to this priest. Over the course of her confession, Simone boldly seduces the priest, who seems to be a willing party in the seduction. He is, however, shocked when Simone's friends drag him from the confessional and take him to a private room behind the altar. While in the room, Sir Edmund forces the priest to defile the church's holy relics. When the priest voices his outrage, Sir Edmund shows Simone how to strangle the priest in a way that will force him to sexually please her in his death throes. When she is satisfied, Simone asks Sir Edmund to cut out the priest's eye.