The Vatican has apologised after the Pope used a highly insulting term regarding gay men.
According to Italian media, Francis used the Italian phrase “frociaggine” (roughly translated as “f****try”) at a private meeting last week when asked whether gay persons should be permitted to prepare for the priesthood as long as 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, and 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 statement in a closed-door meeting with bishops, describing priesthood institutions as already overflowing with “frociaggine” – a highly derogatory Italian term.
He is reported to have underlined that gay individuals should not be permitted to become priests.
The comment was purportedly made on May 20, as originally reported by political gossip website Dagospia, during a private meeting between the Italian Bishops Conference and 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.
The article claims that the Pope made these remarks during an unofficial Q&A period of the yearly bishops’ conference, which was attended by more than 200 clergy members.
A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.
Nnamdi Okoli