Pope Francis apologises for gay slur about trainee priests

The Pope has apologised after he was quoted as saying there was too much homosexuality among men training to be priests in Italy’s seminaries.

The Pope has apologised after he was quoted as saying there was too much homosexuality among men training to be priests in Italy’s seminaries.

He used the Italian word frociaggine, which translates as “faggotry”, when the subject of admitting gay men to seminaries was raised by Italian bishops in a closed meeting on May 20, the Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported. The Pope is reported to have said that there were too many homosexual men entering Italian seminaries and they should be kept out.

The Vatican said in a statement yesterday (Tuesday): “The Pope has never intended to offend or express himself using homophobic expressions, and offers his apologies to those who felt offended by the use of the term. As he has said on various occasions, in the Church there is space for all, for all!”

The Pope’s comment was met with incredulity by the audience, according to bishops cited by the Corriere della Sera newspaper. The bishops claimed, however, that it was clear that the Pope, who is Argentinian and was speaking in Italian, was unaware of how offensive the word was.

The question about homosexual men entering seminaries came after a meeting of bishops in November agreed to loosen the regulation that banned men who practised homosexuality, had “deeply rooted” homosexual tendencies or supported “gay culture”. Despite objections from conservative bishops, a majority at the meeting in Assisi approved a new rule, which was sent to the Vatican for final approval, that would allow people with homosexual tendencies to enter seminaries as long as they followed the rule of celibacy, La Repubblica reported.

At last week’s meeting, however, “two or three” bishops asked the Pope how they should react if an openly gay candidate applied to enter a seminary. He emphasised that the Catholic Church welcomed homosexual people but said they should not be allowed to train for the priesthood because of the risk they would have to lead a double life.

The Times