Pope Francis allegedly shocks bishops by using an offensive slur
The remark was met with 'incredulous laughter', bishops told Italian media. They suggested it was a mistake by the Pope and that he did not know how offensive the word was.
Pope Francis shocks bishops by allegedly saying gay men should not be admitted to church seminaries because 'there's already too much f*****ry'
- Bishops told Italian media the comments were met with 'incredulous laughter'
Pope Francis has allegedly shocked bishops in Italy by using an offensive slur when saying that homosexual men should not be admitted to church seminaries because there is already 'too much' gay sexual activity.
The pontiff told a closed-door meeting at an episcopal conference at the Vatican that homosexual men should not be allowed into colleges to train for the priesthood, Italian media reports.
Bishops at the meeting were reportedly taken aback by the language the 87-year-old used to make the statement - the derogatory word 'frociaggine', which roughly translates to f*****ry.
The remark was met with 'incredulous laughter', bishops told newspaper Corriere della Sera. They suggested that it was an honest mistake by the Pope, for whom Italian is a second language, and that he did not know how offensive the word was.
The alleged comments, which seem to go against recent moves to amend seminary admission rules, have come as a surprise to some in the church as Francis is known for taking a more liberal view than his predecessors on LGBT rights.
When asked about his views on homosexuality in 2013, he famously said: 'If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?'
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.
