Pope allegedly used derogatory slurs against gay people

Pope Francis reportedly used a highly derogatory term against gay men during a closed-door meeting with Italian bishops, during which he also said gay men should be excluded from the priesthood.

Italian publications The Republic And Corriere della Sera both quote the Pope as saying that the seminaries, or priesthood colleges, are already too full of frociagginea vulgar Italian term.

The Vatican did not respond to a request for comment.

Le Corriere said this claim was supported by some anonymous bishops who suggested that the pope, as an Argentine, may not have realized that the Italian term he used was offensive.

The alleged incident occurred on May 20, when the Italian Bishops' Conference opened a four-day assembly with a non-public meeting with the pontiff.

Francis, 87, has so far been credited with leading the Roman Catholic Church to adopt a more welcoming approach to the LGBT community.

In 2013, at the start of his pontificate, he declared: “If a person is gay, seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge? “, while last year he authorized priests to bless members of same-sex couples. , triggering a significant conservative backlash.

However, he delivered a similar message towards gay seminarians – without the reported swear word – when he met with Italian bishops in 2018, asking them to carefully vet candidates for the priesthood and reject any suspected homosexuals. .

In a 2005 document, issued during the tenure of Benedict XVI, Francis' late predecessor, the Vatican said the Church could admit to the priesthood those who had clearly overcome their homosexual tendencies for at least three years.

The document says practicing homosexuals, those with “deep-seated” gay tendencies and those who “support so-called gay culture” should be excluded.

With agencies