Pope Francis apologized on Tuesday after he reportedly used a derogatory term about gay people during a closed-door meeting.
During a private meeting with Italian bishops last week, Pope Francis was asked whether gays should be allowed into seminaries. Not only did he categorically condemn LGBT seminarians, he reportedly also claimed that there are already too many “gays” in seminaries.
“Italian is not his native language.”
“I have nothing to learn from the seminar,” Francis said. Reportedly In Italian.
The translated sentence means: “There is already too much homo-ism in the seminary.”
Italian News Media reported Pope Francis’ response, and his use of the apparently derogatory term, “was met with laughter of incredulity rather than bewilderment.”
In a statement on Tuesday, the Vatican acknowledged the reports, reiterated Francis’ earlier blanket remarks about LGBT Catholics and appeared to apologize.
“Pope Francis is aware of the recently published articles about private conversations he had with bishops of the CEI (Italian Bishops’ Conference).” Said Holy See Press Office.
“The Pope has had many opportunities to say: ‘There is a place for everyone in the Church! There are no useless or superfluous people. There is a place for everyone. For everyone, just like us,'” the statement continued. “The Pope never intended to offend or express homophobic language and apologizes to those who have been offended by the use of the language reported.”
Still, it’s possible that Francis was not using “frociaggine” in a pejorative sense.
The Washington Post report:
A second Vatican official familiar with the pope’s private conversations, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter, said the pope has used the term “frochiagine” before and does not use it as a general term for homosexuals but rather to describe anyone, gay or straight, who forms a closed, gossipy circle.
Furthermore, since Italian is not Francis’ native language, he may not have been aware of the idiomatic meaning of “frociaggine.”
“Italian is not his native language. When he was a child, his family spoke a lot of Piedmontese, which is different from Italian. In short, it is clear that Francis did not realize how heavy and offensive Italian words are in our language,” one bishop said. Said Italian news media.
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