Pope Francis has again used a derogatory term for gay people in a private meeting where he is said to have reiterated the need for caution against priests, The Independent reports.
The initial outrage came after the head of the Catholic Church used the Italian word “frociaggine” at a conference of Italian bishops on May 20, where one of the topics of discussion was whether celibate gay men should be allowed to train for the priesthood in Catholic seminaries.
The Pope reportedly said that some seminaries already have too much frociaggine – which translates as “f*****ness” – in response to suggestions that gays should be allowed to train for the priesthood in Catholic seminaries. The 87-year-old pontiff is said to have spoken out against the idea, saying that while it was important to accept everyone, it could lead to a person leading a double life.
A Vatican apology published later claimed that “the Pope never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms.” Several bishops in the audience at the time told Italian newspapers that the pontiff may not have realised the expression was offensive.
New incident
Francis is now accused of repeating the insult in a private meeting on Tuesday.
According to the Italian news agency Ansa and the Catholic website Silere Non Possum, which claims to have a recording of his meeting with 200 young priests, Francis told the priests that “there is an atmosphere of frociaggine in the Vatican.”
Asked about the latest report, the Vatican press office referred to a statement released about Tuesday’s meeting with priests in which the Pope reiterated the need to welcome gays into the Church and caution about them becoming priests.
The Pope had previously been seen as taking a somewhat less hostile stance towards the LGBT+ community than his predecessors.
In 2013, Pope Francis said gay people should not be marginalised and told reporters:
If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?
Last year, the Pope approved a decree allowing priests to bless same-sex couples – but not in the context of marriage, civil unions or ordinary church rituals. The Vatican has said the Church has no right to bless same-sex unions because God cannot “bless sin.”
However, the Pope said in a letter in 2023:
We cannot be judges who only deny, push back, exclude.
Asked about Francis’s initial use of the slur on May 20, a spokesperson for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales previously said:
Echoing the consistent message of the Synod and this papacy, the Catholic Church is a place of welcome for all.
