(GoRealNewsNow.com) – Following his recent remarks, the Vatican issued a formal apology on behalf of Pope Francis, who reportedly made a homophobic comment during a private meeting discussing the Catholic Church’s ban on homosexual priests.
According to Italian media reports, the pope told Catholic bishops that gay men in Vatican seminaries should not be allowed to become priests, stating there was already enough “frociaggine” in the air, a term roughly translating to “f*****ry.”
Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni stated, “The pope never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms, and he extends his apologies to those who were offended by the use of a term that was reported by others.”
“As he [the Pope] has stated on more than one occasion, ‘In the Church there is room for everyone, everyone! Nobody is useless or superfluous, there is room for everyone, just the way we are,'” Bruni added.
The derogatory comment was made while discussing the Vatican’s absolute ban on homosexual priests, reaffirmed by the Pope in 2016.
However, despite the ban, Pope Francis has made efforts to make the Catholic Church more inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community.
In December, he issued guidance allowing priests to bless same-sex individuals, and he extended baptismal and godparent privileges to transgender individuals in October.
This progressive stance follows his 2013 remark, “If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?”
In a recent 60 Minutes interview, Francis clarified that he authorized the blessing of same-sex individuals, not the blessing of same-sex couples as a union.
“No, what I allowed was not to bless the union,” he responded. “That cannot be done because that is not the sacrament. I cannot. The Lord made it that way. But to bless each person, yes. The blessing is for everyone. For everyone.”
“To bless a homosexual-type union, however, goes against the given right, against the law of the Church,” he concluded.
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