Pope Francis apologises after utilizing homophobic time period

Pope Francis has apologised over any offence caused after he was widely quoted as having used homophobic language at a meeting last week.

The pontiff, 87, did not intend to use homophobic language, the Vatican said on Tuesday after Italian media quoted him as having said there was ‘an air of f*****ry’ in the church.

‘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,’ Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in an emailed statement. 

Italian media on Monday had quoted unnamed Italian bishops in reporting that Francis jokingly used the term ‘f*****ry’ while speaking in Italian during the encounter. 

He had used the term in reaffirming the Vatican’s ban on allowing gay men to enter seminaries and be ordained priests.

Some suggested the comments were an honest translation mistake for the Argentina-born Pope, for whom Italian is a second language, and that he ‘did not know’ how offensive the word was. 

Italian political gossip website Dagospia was the first to report the alleged incident, said to have happened on May 20 when the pontiff met Italian bishops behind closed doors.

Bruni said Francis was ‘aware’ of the reports.

The Vatican spokesman reiterated that the pope remained committed to a welcoming Church for all, where ‘nobody is useless, nobody is superfluous, (where) there is room for everyone.’

Bishops at the meeting last Monday were reportedly taken aback by the language the pontiff used to make the statement – the derogatory word ‘frociaggine’, which roughly translates to f*****ry. 

Italian news agency Adnkronos, citing sources, reported that the Pope said in the speech: ‘Look: there is already an air of f*****ry around that is not good. 

‘There is today’s culture of homosexuality with respect to those who have a homosexual orientation [who] are better off not being accepted [into the seminary].

‘It is very difficult for a boy who has this tendency not to fall [into sin] because they come [to the seminary] thinking that the life of the priest can support them, but then they fall during the work of the ministry.’ 

The remark was met with ‘incredulous laughter’, bishops told newspaper Corriere della Sera, but to some represented a step back after prolonged efforts to reform the church’s position on LGBTQ+ rights.

Francis has been credited with making substantial overtures towards the LGBT community during his 11-year papacy, but his reported comments caused shock and consternation, even among his supporters.

In 2013, at the start of his papacy, he famously said: ‘If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?’ 

And last year, he described laws that criminalise homosexuality as a ‘sin’ and an ‘injustice’, and allowed Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples in a significant advance for LGBT rights in the church.

However, the Pope delivered a similar message on gay seminarians – minus the reported swear word – when he met Italian bishops in 2018, telling them to carefully vet priesthood applicants and reject anyone suspected of being homosexual. 

Political gossip website Dagospia was the first to report on the alleged incident, said to have happened on May 20, when the Italian Bishops Conference opened a four-day assembly with a non-public meeting with the pontiff.

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Francis’s native language is Spanish, and though he is fluent in Italian he has made a number of linguistic faux pas in the past.

He has previously said that if a boy is unsure about his sexuality and is facing mental health challenges he might need ‘psychiatric’ support.

It widely believed he instead meant ‘psychological’ help, words he has also confused on other occasions.

The 87-year-old Argentine pope often speaks informally, jokes using slang and even curses in private. 

Francesco Lepore, a former priest who is now a gay rights activist, said he was ‘stunned’ by the comments allegedly made by Francis, who is also known by his birth name Jorge Mario Bergoglio. 

‘Despite being accustomed by now to the type of direct language on the part of Bergoglio, speaking of ‘f*****ry’ in the seminaries seems more like a bar and a tavern than a Pontiff,’ he told la Repubblica.

‘This expression would never have appeared on the lips of Paul VI, John Paul II or Benedict XVI, who also took damning positions towards homosexuality. 

He added: ‘The Pope is right that the number of homosexual seminarians and clerics is very high. But the simplicity of language has nothing to do with vulgarity.’

Reports about the pontiff’s remarks at the meeting come after bishops approved a document regulating admission to Italian seminaries, according to Corriere. 

The document, which hasn’t been published pending review by the Holy See, reportedly sought to open some wiggle room in the Vatican’s absolute ban on gay priests.

The Vatican ban was articulated in a 2005 document from the Congregation for Catholic Education, issued by his predecessor Benedict XVI, and later repeated in a subsequent document in 2016.

It said the church cannot admit to seminaries or ordain men who ‘practice homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called gay culture.’ 

The paper reported that members ‘approved by majority vote an amendment that recognized the distinction between simple homosexual orientation and ‘deeply rooted tendencies.’

This, it suggests, means ‘in substance, that a homosexual person could be admitted to the seminary if, like the heterosexual, he gave the guarantee that he knows how to live the discipline of celibacy.’

However, it reportedly implies ‘that it is more difficult for homosexuals because they will be living in an all-male community for many years.’

Francis’s latest remarks seemingly suggest he is taking ‘a more radical’ view on the issue, by preventing gay men from being allowed to join altogether. 

The Holy See has not approved the document, according to reports, and the issue is still under discussion.