Pope Francis has apologized after using a word deemed insulting to homosexuals during the assembly of the Italian Bishops’ Conference last week.
Pope Francis recently used an insulting and vulgar term when speaking about homosexuals in the Catholic Church, several Italian media reported on Monday.
Speaking during the assembly of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI) a week ago, the pope reportedly urged bishops not to welcome openly homosexual people into religious seminaries, saying there were already too many “fags”, according to a translation that comes closest to it.
He used a word from the dialect of Rome, “frociaggine”, considered in Italian to be vulgar and insulting towards homosexuals.
A gaffe”
“According to the bishops contacted” by Corriere della Sera, “it is obvious that the sovereign pontiff was not aware of how insulting his words were in Italian“, writes the main Italian daily on its site.
“More than embarrassment, his remarks were greeted with some incredulous laughter because the gaffe” of the pope, whose mother tongue is not Italian, “was obvious,” the newspaper continues.
The daily La Repubblica gives the same information, citing several corroborating sources.
The newspaper recalls that Pope Francis has always campaigned for a Church welcoming to everyone, regardless of sexual orientation, but he insisted during this meeting on the ban on seminars for openly homosexual people.
The Pope’s apology
This Tuesday, Pope Francis apologized after his remarks deemed homophobic, indicates the Vatican. “The Pope never intended to offend or express himself with homophobic remarks and apologizes to those who felt offended by the use of a word“, according to this press release.
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