Pope apologizes after quoting vulgar term about gays

Pope Francis apologized Tuesday after being quoted using a vulgar term about gays to reaffirm the Catholic Church’s ban on homosexual priests.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni issued a statement acknowledging the media storm that erupted over Francis’ comments, which were delivered to Italian bishops behind closed doors on May 20.

Italian media had quoted unnamed Italian bishops on Monday as reporting that Francis jokingly used the term “faggot” while speaking in Italian during the meeting. He had used the term to reaffirm the Vatican’s ban on allowing gay men to enter seminaries and be ordained as priests.

Bruni said Francis was aware of the reports and recalled that the Argentine pope, who has made outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics a hallmark of his papacy, has long insisted there is “room for everyone” in the Catholic Church .

“It was never the Pope’s intention to offend himself or express himself in homophobic terms, and he apologizes to those who were offended by the use of a term reported by others,” Bruni said.

Francis addressed a meeting of the Italian bishops’ conference, which recently approved a new document detailing the training of Italian seminarians. The document, which has not yet been published pending review by the Holy See, reportedly sought to create some wiggle room in the Vatican’s absolute ban on homosexual priests.

The Vatican ban was spelled out in a 2005 document from the Congregation for Catholic Education, and later reiterated in a subsequent 2016 document, which stated that the church cannot admit seminaries or ordain men who “practice homosexuality, exhibit deep-seated homosexual tendencies or provide support’. the so-called gay culture.”

Francis strongly reaffirmed that position during his May 20 meeting with Italian bishops, joking that “there is already an atmosphere of flickering” in the seminaries, Italian media reported, following initial reporting from gossip site Dagospia.

Italian is not Francis’ native language, and the Argentine pontiff has made eyebrow-raising linguistic blunders in the past. The 87-year-old Argentine pope often speaks informally, makes jokes in street language and even swears in private.

However, he is known for his outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics, starting with his famous 2013 “Who Am I to Judge” comment about a priest who reportedly had a gay lover in his past.

By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press