During a closed-door meeting with 200 Italian bishops last week, Pope Francis allegedly used derogatory terms to explain gay people during debates about whether the Italian church should allow gay men to enter the seminary.
According to local reports, the Argentine pope said “there’s already enough faggotry” in Catholic seminaries, in his speech to prelates on May 20. The pope used the Italian term “frociaggine,” a rarely used slur to explain flamboyant gay attitudes. Francis allegedly also used other disparaging words to explain gays.
“The pope never meant to offend or express himself with homophobic terms, and he issues his most sincere apologies to all those that felt offended by way of a term reported by others,” read an announcement by Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni on Tuesday.
The Vatican didn’t deny that the pope used those terms and offered no clarification on who were the “others” who reported the pope’s words.
The statement clarified that the pope is aware of the news reports regarding his private meeting with the Italian bishops and that Francis desires to reiterate his belief that “within the church there’s place for everybody, for everybody! No one is useless, nobody is superfluous, there’s space for everybody. Just the way in which we’re, everyone.”
The Italian bishops, who were convened for the national assembly meeting in Rome, are considering relaxing the ban on admitting gay men to the seminary.
Individuals who’re engaging in same-sex sexual encounters or have “deeply rooted homosexual tendencies” usually are not allowed to enter the seminary, in response to a 2005 Vatican instruction. Inspired by the pope’s opening toward LGBTQ faithful, Italian bishops are discussing the opportunity of removing the ban on those that have gay tendencies.
During the meeting, which lasted an hour and a half, the pope allegedly stated that the church should proceed to bar entry to the priesthood to gay men.Â
The pope has appeared to offer an unprecedented opening toward LGBTQ faithful, meeting with gay dignitaries and advocates on the Vatican, supporting the pastoral outreach to the LGBTQ community of Jesuit priest James Martin and helping trans communities.
But the pope’s words of welcoming to LGBTQ faithful haven’t led to any change to the church’s teachings on homosexuality, including that gay acts are a sin. Last 12 months, the Vatican’s Department for the Doctrine of the Faith cautiously allowed priests to bless same-sex couples, however the pope took a step back on the historic decision by stating that gay unions can’t be blessed because they’re contrary to natural law in an interview with “60 Minutes” that aired May 20.
In the identical interview, Francis said that gay people might be blessed as individuals and that “everyone” is welcome within the church.
The long speech to Italian bishops was delivered in Italian, which is not the pope’s native language, but this is not the primary time Francis has used colourful language to get his message across. While chatting with sex abuse victims in Dublin in 2018, the pope said that priests who covered up abuse are “s***” and he has accused media outlets of “coprophilia,” meaning that they’re aroused by excrement.
The pope’s comments come shortly before Rome’s gay pride parade, which is about to happen on June 15.
© Religion News Service
