Tuesday, May 28, 2024 - The Vatican has apologised after the Pope used a highly offensive word about gay men.
Italian media reported on Monday that Francis used the
Italian term “frociaggine”, roughly translating as “f****try”, in a private
meeting last week when he was asked whether gay men should be allowed to train
for the priesthood provided they remained celibate.
In a statement, it said: "Pope Francis is aware of the
articles recently published about a conversation, behind closed doors, with the
bishops of the CEI [the Italian Episcopal Conference of Catholic bishops].
"As he stated on several occasions, 'In
the Church there is room for everyone, for everyone! Nobody is
useless, nobody is superfluous, there is room for everyone. Just as
we are, all of us.'
"The Pope never intended to offend or express himself
in homophobic terms, and he apologises to those who felt offended by
the use of a term reported by others."
Francis made the remark in a closed-door meeting
with bishops, when describing priesthood colleges as already too full
of "frociaggine" - a highly offensive Italian slur.
He is said to have reiterated that gay men should not be
allowed to become priests.
The remark was reportedly made on 20 May, as first reported
by political gossip website Dagospia, when the Italian Bishops Conference held
a private meeting with the Pope.
"It's all the fault of some bishop who broke his
mandate of silence to report the gaffe that occurred last week," reported
Il Messaggero, a national paper based in Rome.
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