Pope Francis has issued an apology following reports that he used extremely derogatory language towards gay men.
A statement from the Vatican claimed the Pope did not mean to offend anyone and apologized to those who were “hurt by the use of a word.”
At the Italian Bishops‘ Conference, the pope reportedly said gay men should not be allowed to train for the priesthood, adding there was already an air of “frociaggine”, which translates as a highly offensive slur. The meeting was private but has been widely reported on.
“Pope Francis is aware of the articles that have come out recently concerning a conversation he had with bishops…behind closed doors,” the statement quoted the director of the Holy See, the Catholic Church’s governing body, Matteo Bruni, as saying.
The comments of the Vicar of Christ on Earth were first picked up by Italian tabloid website Dagospia and were soon confirmed by other Italian news agencies. The reported language has caused shock, as Pope Francis has frequently spoken publicly about being respectful towards gay people.
“As he [the Pope] has stated on more than one occasion, ‘In the Church there is room for everyone, everyone! Nobody is useless or superfluous, there is room for everyone, just the way we are,’” Bruni told the BBC.
Progressive admirers and supporters of the Pope have for a long time noted that while little has tangibly changed in terms of gay rights in Catholicism, he has changed the tone of the Church’s attitude.
The Pope’s position on gay people and marriage
When asked about gay people early in his papacy, the Pope hit the headlines by responding, “Who am I to judge?”
Some had started to feel that he was laying the groundwork to ultimately permit gay men to train for the priesthood as long as they remained celibate like other priests. He not only shot that down in no uncertain terms at the conference, but some news agencies report he used derogatory language on more than one occasion.
The Pope recently caused some Catholic traditionalists to furrow their brows by saying priests should be able to bless same-sex couples in some circumstances. He has often talked of gay people being welcomed in the Church.
Spanish-speaking defenders of the Pope highlight that he sometimes makes mistakes in Italian colloquialisms and suggest that he did not appreciate the level of offense he might have caused despite the fact that he did grow up in an Italian-speaking household in Argentina.
“The Pope never meant to offend or to use homophobic language, and apologizes to everyone who felt offended [or] hurt by the use of a word,” Bruni told the BBC.
Pope Francis had suggested in October that he was open to having the Church bless same-sex couples.