CHRISTIAN BREAKING NEWS: Pope Francis Apologizes after Reports of Him Using Vulgar Term for Gay Men Regarding Ban on Gay Priests [#PopeFrancis #VaticanCity #Vatican_City #CatholicChurch]
CHRISTIAN BREAKING NEWS: Pope Francis Apologizes after Reports of Him Using Vulgar Term for Gay Men Regarding Ban on Gay Priests [#PopeFrancis #VaticanCity #Vatican_City #CatholicChurch]
Pope Francis apologized on Tuesday after being quoted as using a vulgar and derogatory term for gay men to reaffirm the Catholic Church’s ban on gay priests.
Matteo Bruni, Vatican spokesman, issued a statement addressing the media storm that erupted following Francis’ remarks to Italian bishops behind closed doors on May 20.
On Monday, Italian media quoted unnamed Italian bishops as saying Francis playfully used the term while speaking in Italian during the encounter.
He used the term to reaffirm the Vatican’s ban on gay men entering seminaries and becoming ordained priests.
Bruni stated that Francis was aware of the reports and recalled that the Argentine pope, who has made outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics a highlight of his papacy, has long insisted that there is “room for everyone” in the Catholic Church.
“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.”
– Matteo Bruni, Vatican spokesman
Bruni’s statement carefully avoided an outright confirmation that the pope had used the term, in keeping with the Vatican’s tradition of not revealing what the pope says behind closed doors.
But Bruni also did not deny that Francis had used the phrase and acknowledged that some people had been offended by it.
NEWS SOURCE & LINKS:
AP News
Pope Francis Apologizes after REPORTS OF HIM USING VULGAR TERM FOR GAY MEN RE: BAN ON GAY PRIESTS… | Christian Breaking News!