The Vatican apologized Tuesday for a derogatory comment by Pope Francis to Italian bishops, confirming earlier press reports the 87-year-old spiritual leader used a slur when telling clerics gay men should not be allowed to enter seminaries and train for the priesthood.
The reports, initially from an Italian gossip-oriented website and later published in two respected daily newspapers, also indicated the Argentine-born pontiff used the derogatory Italian word “frociaggine” — translated as “f——try” — when addressing the surprised clerics.
The pope, whose native language is Spanish, may not have known the word was a slur, his defenders said, noting it runs contrary to his overall messages of acceptance of LGBTQ individuals in the church. Still the church was quick to move to damage control.
On Tuesday, papal spokesman Matteo Bruni told the official Vatican News service, “The Pope never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms, and he apologizes to those who felt offended by the use of a term, as reported by others.”
The Vatican added, “As he has stated on several occasions, ‘In the Church there is room for everyone, for everyone! Nobody is useless, nobody is superfluous, there is room for everyone. Just as we are, all of us.’”
In 2013, Francis famously declared when asked about gay clergy, “If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?” Last December, the 87-year-old pope said priests could bless members of same-sex pairings, which LGBTQ advocates in the church called “a tremendous step forward.”
His remarks have brought repeated criticisms from conservatives in the Church, who contend the liberal pontiff is rejecting fundamental Catholic teachings that have been in place for centuries.
The online Cambridge Dictionary says “frocio,” the root of “frociaggine,” means “pansy” and is “an offensive word for an effeminate man.”
Corriere della Serra in Milan and Rome’s La Repubblica, two leading Italian newspapers, said Francis made the comment in a May 20 meeting with 200 members of the Conference of Italian Bishops, confirming a report from the website Dagospia.
According to a report in America magazine by its Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell, “Various sources here say the pope’s use of ‘frociaggine’ was a gaffe on the part of the pope,” who might not have been aware of its negative connotations. The magazine is published by the Jesuit order, to which Francis belongs.
According to the Tuesday statement, Mr. Bruni confirmed the pontiff’s initial comments, saying, “Pope Francis is aware of the articles recently published about a conversation, behind closed doors, with the bishops of the CEI,” the Italian initials for the country’s conference of bishops.
The pope was responding to a question of who should be admitted to Catholic seminaries in Italy to prepare for ordination. The sources said Francis made a distinction between those who had an orientation versus those who practice homosexual acts.
La Repubblica quoted the pontiff as saying, “It is necessary to put down markers and prevent the risk that the gay person who chooses the priesthood could later end up living a double life, continuing to practice homosexuality, while at the same time suffering from this dissimulation.”
The newspaper also quoted Francis as saying, “Respect is due to every person irrespective of their sexual orientation,” which the pope has repeatedly emphasized.
The Vatican’s official policy, dating back to 2005 and approved by Francis’ conservative predecessor Pope Benedict XVI, states that “the Church, while profoundly respecting the persons in question, cannot admit to the seminary or to holy orders those who practice homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called ‘gay culture.’”
• Mark A. Kellner can be reached at mkellner@washingtontimes.com.