Pope Francis has reportedly shocked bishops Italy by using an offensive slur when saying that gay men should not be admitted to church seminaries because there is already “too much” homosexual activity.
The Pope told a closed-door meeting at a bishops' conference in the Vatican that gay men should not be admitted to colleges to train for the priesthood, Italian media reported.
Bishops at the meeting were reportedly surprised by the language the 87-year-old used to make the statement: the derogatory word “frociaggine,” which roughly translates to “f*****ry.”
The comment was met with “incredulous laughter,” the bishops told the newspaper Corriere della Sera. They suggested it was an honest mistake by the pope, for whom Italian is a second language, and that he did not know how offensive the word was.
The alleged comments, which appear to run counter to recent moves to change seminary admissions rules, have come as a surprise to some in the church as Francis is known for taking a more liberal stance than his predecessors on LGBT rights.
Pope Francis is pictured meeting with the Italian Bishops' Conference in the Vatican
The comments were said to have been made during a closed-door meeting ahead of the conference. Pictured: the opening session of the 79th General Assembly of the Italian Episcopal Conference
When asked in 2013 about his views on homosexuality, he famously said, “If someone is gay and seeks the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?”
Last year he described laws criminalizing homosexuality as a “sin” and an “injustice” and allowed Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples, marking a major step forward for LGBT rights in the church.
However, the pope delivered a similar message about gay seminarians — minus the reported invective — when he met with Italian bishops in 2018, telling them to carefully vet priesthood applicants and reject anyone suspected of being homosexual.
Political gossip website Dagospia was the first to report on the alleged incident, which is said to have occurred on May 20, when the Italian Bishops' Conference opened a four-day meeting with a non-public meeting with the pope.
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Francis's first language is Spanish, and although he is fluent in Italian, he has made a number of language mistakes in the past.
He has previously said that if a boy is insecure about his sexuality and facing mental health issues, he may need 'psychiatric' support.
It was widely believed that he meant “psychological” help instead, words he has also confused on other occasions.
Reports of his comments at the May 20 meeting come after the bishops approved a document regulating access to Italian seminaries, Corriere said.
The newspaper reported that members had “approved by majority vote an amendment recognizing the distinction between simple homosexual orientation and 'deep-seated inclinations.'
This suggests that this “essentially means that a homosexual can be admitted to the seminary if, like the heterosexual, he guarantees that he knows how to observe the discipline of celibacy.”
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Francis' first language is Spanish, and although he is fluent in Italian, he has made a number of language mistakes in the past
However, it reportedly implies “that it is more difficult for homosexuals because they will live in an all-male community for years.”
Francis' latest comments appear to indicate he is taking a more “radical” position on the issue, by preventing gay men from becoming members in the first place.
According to reports, the Holy See has not approved the document and the issue is still under discussion.
The 2005 Vatican document, released under Pope Benedict supports. culture.”'
There has so far been no official record of the Pope's latest comments on the matter and the Vatican has made no comment.