Pope Francis is apologizing after reports he used an offensive term for gay men during a recent closed-door meeting.
“Pope Francis is aware of recently published articles about a conversation, behind closed doors, with the bishops of the (Italian Episcopal Conference),” the Vatican press service said in a statement from the director of the Saint’s press office. -Headquarters, Matteo Bruni.
Italian media attributed the use of the term to unidentified bishops who allegedly heard Pope Francis’ speech at a meeting of the Italian Bishops’ Conference. They claim in reports that Pope Francis used the term while reinforcing long-standing Church instructions barring gay men from entering the seminary to train for the priesthood.
Pope Francis addresses pilgrims during his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican, May 22, 2024.
Filippo Monteforte/AFP via Getty Images
“The Pope never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms, and he apologizes to those who were offended by the use of a term reported by others,” continues the Vatican press release. “As he had the opportunity to say on several occasions: ‘In the Church, there is room for everyone, for everyone! No one is useless, no one is superfluous, there is There’s room for everyone. Like us, everyone.’ “
In 2023, Pope Francis called a crowd of hundreds of thousands on World Youth Day to shout to him that the Catholic Church is for “todos, todos, todos” – everyone, everyone. world, everyone. He was then asked how he could reconcile his “everything” message with the fact that LGBTQ+ people are excluded from the sacraments. The pope responded that the Church has laws, but that it remains a place for everyone.
Pope Francis attends World Children’s Day (WCD) at the Olympic Stadium on May 25, 2024.
Stefano Costantino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
The pope’s use of this insult surprised many. Throughout his pontificate, Francis has introduced an openness towards the LGBTQ community, although he has supported the Church’s position on doctrinal issues.
When a reporter asked Francis about gay priests as he returned from his papacy’s first foreign trip in 2013, the pope stunned people with his response: “If a person is gay, look for God and has good will, who am I to judge him? ?”
Pope Francis has also criticized laws that criminalize homosexuality and officially approved allowing Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples – a significant change in Vatican guidelines.
Pope Francis, whose native language is Spanish and not Italian, has sometimes invented words during his papacy, or used slang or inappropriate phraseology during his remarks, often while speaking at unexpectedly.
ABC News’ Melissa Gaffney and Ines de la Cuetara contributed to this report.
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