Pope used vulgar Italian word to refer to LGBT people, Italian newspapers report

21 comments

1. VATICAN CITY, May 27 (Reuters) – Pope Francis used a highly derogatory term towards the LGBT community as he reiterated in a closed-door meeting with Italian bishops that gay people should not be allowed to become priests, Italian media reported on Monday.La Repubblica and Corriere della Sera, Italy’s largest circulation dailies, both quoted the pope as saying seminaries, or priesthood colleges, are already too full of “frociaggine”, a vulgar Italian term roughly translating as “faggottness”.The Vatican did not respond to a request for comment.La Repubblica attributed its story to several unspecified sources, while Corriere said it was backed up by a few, unnamed bishops, who suggested the pope, as an Argentine, might have not realised that the Italian term he used was offensive.Political gossip website Dagospia was the first to report on the alleged incident, said to have happened on May 20, when the Italian Bishops Conference opened a four-day assembly with a non-public meeting with the pontiff.Francis, who is 87, has so far been credited with leading the Roman Catholic Church into taking a more welcoming approach towards the LGBT community.In 2013, at the start of his papacy, he famously said, “If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?”, while last year he allowed priests to bless members of [same-sex couples](https://www.reuters.com/world/vatican-approves-blessings-same-sex-couples-under-certain-conditions-2023-12-18/), triggering substantial conservative backlash.Nevertheless, he delivered a similar message on gay seminarians – minus the reported swear word – when he met Italian bishops in 2018, telling them to carefully vet priesthood applicants and reject any suspected homosexuals.In a 2005 document, released under Francis’s late predecessor Benedict XVI, the Vatican said the Church could admit into the priesthood those who had clearly overcome homosexual tendencies for at least three years.The document said practicing homosexuals and those with “deep-seated” gay tendencies and those who “support the so-called gay culture” should be barred.

2. Prigozhin’s brother hit again.

3. >Pope Francis used a highly derogatory term towards the LGBT community as he reiterated in a closed-door meeting with Italian bishops that gay people should not be allowed to become priests

   Meanwhile the room full of closeted gay guys is sweating profusely and nodding along.

4. Not very compatible with western culture, wouldn’t you say?

5. A weird 180 degrees, from supporting same sex marriage and trans people to using a slur when referring to gay people, i guess he was only doing it for brownie points

6. I’m sorry LGBT community but that word is just too funny to say for everyone.. you can’t help it.

7. My wife, who is fluent in Italian, says *frociaggine* is such a weird choice, that he probably picked the wrong word from a dictionary (he’s a Spanish speaker).

8. 0% chance this happened

9. Can we please annex the Vatican once and for all?

10. [removed]

11. Almost like people have different opinions in public and in private.

12. Dagospia (Tabloid like The Sun) reported on this first… not sure we can call that site something reliable. I’d wait before saying that it’s what he said.

13. I could see him saying that but as others have said the source that first reported this was a tabloid so I’m gonna wait till we get something more concrete about the arch heretic.

14. I think it’s great that we hold the Church to account but I wish we did the same for other religions and cultures.

    We get offended if the Pope uses a bad word but generally stay silent when homosexuals are sentenced to death in other cultures in the name of religion

15. Why does anyone care what an old weirdo in a wizard robe says or thinks? The entire Catholic Church needs to just die out already it belongs in the 15th century not the 21st

16. Great. Do that for the pedophiles.

17. I may be going to hell but I’ll see you there too *coglione*

18. God bless the Holy Catholic Church and the Pope.

19. The Catholic Church sure likes to distract from its pervasive pedo issue.

20. Oh wow rusophile and a genocide apologist uses slurs towards minorities. How unexpected

21. And?