Pope Francis, known as a humanitarian, but also outspoken Pope, has attracted criticism again, this time for allegedly using a common slur word to refer to gay men and to tell Italian bishops to not permit them to train for the priesthood.
Citing sources from inside the closed-door meeting that took place last week, the Corriere della Sera and La Repubblica newspapers reported Monday that the Pope had made the comments while meeting with Italian bishops on May 20. Given the closed nature of the meeting, there is no official transcript of the proceedings, or proof of the Pope’s misstep.
The newspaper articles, which were translated from Italian, claimed the Pope had said there is “frociaggine” – which translates in English to “faggotry” – in some of the seminaries.
The remarks allegedly were made in the context of the admission guidelines to the seminaries and the bishops’ proposals for their modifications.
The issue is not a new concern for the pontiff or the bishops. The Vatican ruled in 2005 that the church cannot allow the ordination of men who are actively gay or have “deep-seated” homosexual tendencies. In 2016, Francis upheld this ruling. Two years later he told the Italian bishops not to accept gay candidates for the priesthood.
The alleged remarks and slur, made behind closed doors, would suggest an ambivalence in the Pope’s position on homosexuality. During his pontificate, the Pope has sought to offer a more welcoming approach to LGBTQ+ Catholics, saying “who am I to judge?” when asked about gay priests, and has also offered the possibility that priests could offer informal blessings for same-sex couples.
The Corriere della Sera newspaper has suggested that Pope Francis, whose first language is Spanish and whose familiarity with Italian is thorough but perhaps not nuanced, may not have been aware of how offensive his choice of words was, adding that the remark and use of “frociaggine” was greeted with incredulous embarrassed laughter by the bishops.
A source close to the Pope told CNN that perhaps he meant that there is a “gay climate” in the seminaries. This would be a less charged way of expressing it but would still underline that he considers it a serious problem that needs to be managed.
In a late development, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni issued a statement acknowledging the media storm that Francis’ comment unleashed. However, while the statement recognizes that it may have been a faux pas, it is also falls rather short of a full-throated apology, especially as it was made through his spokesperson rather than personally.
Bruni said Francis was aware of the reports and recalled that the Argentine pope, who has made outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics a hallmark of his papacy, has long insisted there was “room for everyone” in the Catholic Church.
“The pope never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms, and he extends his apologies to those who were offended by the use of a term that was reported by others,” Bruni said.
