Rome Newsroom, May 28, 2024 / 12:35 pm (CNA).
The Vatican on Tuesday issued an apology after Pope Francis’ use of an offensive word in Italian regarding seminarians who identify as gay.
Matteo Bruni, the Holy See spokesman, said in Tuesday’s press statement that the Holy Father was “aware of the articles recently published about a conversation, behind closed doors, with the bishops” of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI).
Italian media reported that Pope Francis had met with the CEI on May 20 in the Vatican’s Synodal Hall. At that meeting the pope was asked about the admission of declared gay men to the seminary.
Telling the bishops that gay men should not be admitted to priestly formation, the pope argued “there is too much ‘frociaggine’ in seminaries,” a slur translated as “faggotry” or “faggotness.”
Bruni told journalists that 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 reported by others.”
The remarks were first reported by the Italian tabloid website Dagospia and later confirmed by major Italian newspapers La Repubblica and Corriere della Sera.
Quoting several unnamed bishops, Corriere della Sera suggested that the pope did not understand the gravity of the term in Italian.
The Vatican nearly two decades ago addressed the topic of gay-identified men entering Catholic seminaries. In 2005 the Congregation for Catholic Education issued an instruction titled “Concerning the Criteria for the Discernment of Vocations with Regard to Persons with Homosexual Tendencies in View of Their Admission to the Seminary and to Holy Orders.”
The document stated that “it is necessary to state clearly 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.’”
The instruction went on to note the difference between those who display “deep-seated homosexual tendencies” and those “dealing with homosexual tendencies that were only the expression of a transitory problem.”
Pope Francis upheld the ruling in 2016. In 2018 he again told Italian bishops to carefully vet candidates.
La Repubblica noted the Italian bishops during their meeting in Assisi last November approved a new Ratio Formationis Sacerdotalis, a document detailing the admission criteria and standards for men in Italy’s seminaries.
The Italian paper added that the document “has been under consideration by the Vatican Dicastery for the Clergy for final approval.”
Papal biographer Austen Ivereigh wrote on X on Tuesday that the pope’s “concern is with gay men seeing the priesthood as a way of living out their sexuality, and the gay subculture in many seminaries.”
The pope has at times been hailed for his outreach to the LGBT-identified community.
During an in-flight press conference in 2013, the pope responded to a question from a journalist on his experience as a confessor to homosexual persons by asking rhetorically: “Who am I to judge that person?”
The pope expanded on these remarks in a 2016 book-length interview titled “The Name of God Is Mercy,” where he said he was “paraphrasing by heart” the Catechism of the Church, which states that “these people should be treated with delicacy and not be marginalized.”
“I am glad that we are talking about ‘homosexual people,’” the pope continued, “because before all else comes the individual person, in his wholeness and dignity.”
In December of last year, meanwhile, the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued Fiducia Supplicans, a declaration allowing for nonliturgical blessings for couples in “irregular” situations, including same-sex couples.
Responding to the strong criticism the document received, Pope Francis said in February that to be “scandalized” by gay couple blessings is “hypocrisy.”
“No one is scandalized if I give a blessing to an entrepreneur who perhaps exploits people: and this is a very serious sin,” the pope said in the interview to the Italian weekly print periodical Credere.
“Whereas they are scandalized if I give it to a homosexual … This is hypocrisy! We must all respect each other. Everyone,” the Holy Father said.
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Finally he’s annoyed about something he should be annoyed about. Too bad the stupid term homophobic is used to describe this proper reaction. Stupid because it fails to recognize that it is impossible to fear homosexuals, it is only possible to fear the social damage they do and the damage done by those who refuse to acknowledge the damage they do.
Not the most politic choice of words, but on the other hand “a rose is a rose is a rose,” said writer Gertrude Stein, an open lesbian.
They are using the terms which the LGBT propagandists use, because they belong to them.
Dear Edward J Baker – let’s also remember the spiritual damage they do to themselves and to all of us in our beloved Church.
Active homosexuals are in a known state of sin. Perhaps a less derogatory term could have been used but that would not have changed the substance of what he said. Part of his situation of course is the expectation he has set in place that homosexuality will soon be given the stamp of approval. The question I would have if I were the Pope is, which Bishop in this closed meeting betrayed me to the press? The betrayal ironically only proves the point that there are too many gays in the seminaries, as well as in the ranks of the Bishops. Otherwise why the betrayal? To embarrass him? Gays should be welcomed to Mass as fellow believers. They should not be used as moral role models in the priesthood.
“Gays should be welcomed to Mass as fellow believers.” Really, dear LJ?
Inclusion in our Holy Masses is a form of authentication and of inclusion in the community life of our parish.
It should be obvious to all informed Catholics that we are not permitted by The LORD to authenticate unrepentant sin. We’d also be foolish to expose our families to the immoral proselytizing that always accompanies unrepentant homosexuals & others who have chosen sinfully deviant lifestyles.
Yes! I do love the sinner but, yes! I do know that keeping parish community families spiritually & physically safe is of the highest importance.
How should we think of those who claim to be believers but have chosen to reject key parts of our belief system?
Saint James pointed out that even demons are believers in the one God who we worship (James 2:19).
Love is THE way, but it needs to be wise & discerning. There is such a thing as foolishly irresponsible love.
Ever seeking to obey King Jesus Christ; love & blessings from marty
Are you suggesting that people in a state of sin are to be excluded from Christian life or worship until they repent? You will be a long time making converts that way. Unless Catholics go to confession EVERY day, I daresay they are in a state of sin, whether mortal or venial, by time they get to church on Sunday, even if they confess weekly. It is part of the human condition. The question is what would make people think about repenting if they are never exposed to the reason WHY they should? Or exposed to the love of Jesus by hearing the readings at church?. Christ’s critics notably accused him of “eating with sinners”. It didnt appear to bother him. And I would add that while certain gays are flamboyant in their appearance, many sinners in the pews are simply not that obvious: adulterers, thieves, etc. The sinners are there whether we approve of them or not. And we might well count ourselves in their number if we are honest. Current statistics indicate that most Catholics practice abortion and contraception in the same number as non-catholics for example. So again, saying “only non-sinners may apply” is a non-starter. If you expect people to be perfect and adhere to ALL Catholic rules before they show up in church, prepared to worship in an empty church by yourself.
Thanks, dear LJ, for so clearly laying-out this common misunderstanding of our Faith. Effectively this error says: “Since all are sinners there can be no distinctions.”
It’s also commonly said that since Jesus Christ, God-With-Us, ate & drank in the company of sinners, we should open our parish communities to unrepentant sinners.
That deliberately ignores Jesus’ instruction: “Go, & sin no more!” It ignores strong moral examples such as that of Mary of Magdala, Zachaeus, Mathew, and most outstandingly, that of Saul of Tarsus. All serious sinners, led by Jesus to repentance & new, reformed lives of obedience to God’s rules.
It also ignores the clear instructions of The Holy Spirit of God given to us by 9 Apostolic authors in the 27 texts of The New Testament and reiterated by our Magisterium in The Catechism of The Catholic Church.
It is, of course, a logical fallacy to argue that because we ASSUME there’re unrepentant liars, thieves, murderers, fornicators, adulterers, etc. joining undetected in our parish liturgies, we should therefore welcome people living unrepentant homosexual lives into our faith communities.
The Catholic Church teaches that those who are in serious sin (as clearly defined in the Catechism of the Catholic Church) are excluded from receiving Holy Communion. If they persist in taking communion, they have committed sacrilege and will go straight to hell if they die unshriven.
The reason for their terrible fate is they’ve obstinately put their own ideas first rather than placing God’s instructions first, no matter what the cost may be.
If some unrepentants do get through that’s no excuse for inviting others to reap the same dreadful judgment.
After living over 80 years and working in countries all around the world, I’m certain that all true Catholic Christians carry their individual crosses of personal self-denial, every day.
Yes, humans are sinful but true Catholics are unfailingly repentant, & all gladly suffer sacrifices for the sake of God’s Kingdom.
Everything about the Catholic Church and everything in our liturgies (if we pay attention to what we all are praying) is about: “YOUR will be done, HOLY GOD, not my will.”
A decision by the Church to embrace unrepentant homosexuals in our parish communities or to bestow a priestly blessing on homosexual couples would be a public statement of: “YOUR will be flouted, HOLY GOD.”
There are many examples of homosexually attracted Catholic men & women who bravely carry their crosses of self-denial, like all the rest of us, and they are respected and warmly welcomed into our parish communities and liturgies.
In street ministry & in healing rooms I’ve lovingly ministered to homosexually attracted people and have no hesitation in saying that every one of them had a spiritual problem that fed their same-sex lust.
As with all slavery to sin, the start of getting free is admission that GOD is right, and we are wrong.
Commonly, with both lay & clergy, addiction to pornography, has first to be totally renounced. After that, ceasing socializing with homosexual people.
A decision to accept openly unrepentant sinners into a Catholic parish community subverts the Christ established foundations of our entire Faith.
As Saint Mark records: “The time has come, said Jesus, and The Kingdom of GOD is close at hand. Repent, and believe the good News!”
Hoping this is of help. Ever in Jesus Christ; love & blessings from marty
Is he annoyed? Is it the old Peronist tactic? Throw a bone to one constituency and the other bone to its adversary. Surely James Martin will be able to iron all this out, given he is a member of the Dicastery of Communications, a recipient of private correspondence from the Holy Father, entitled to private audiences with the Holy Father and among the people specifically invited by Francis to take part in the final phase meetings of the upcoming Synod of Bishops.
Far more sinister if this ‘uncertain’ & ‘accidental’ leak was cunningly planned as a way to try to assuage the anger of so many Catholics over the evidence of unrestricted clergy homosexuality (the ‘lilac mafia cartel’) & PF’s persistent public cherishings of LGBT causes, including profane couple blessings in Catholic churches.
Yet again our very unique pope & his turbocharged pr team seem to have pulled-off yet another: “Now you see me, now you don’t!” illusion for the media. “Truth? What is that?”
“Dear Pope Francis & Co.: ‘You cain’t pin me down’ ain’t agonna work on Judgment Day!”
Jesus Christ self-described as THE TRUTH, not as the truths . . . but the PF coterie will say He is in a box of suicidal conservatism, I suppose.
Always in the grace & mercy of King Jesus Christ; love & blessings from marty
It occurs to me that this Pope doesn’t know what he thinks. The Catholic Church is being put through the wringer with this papacy.
Sadly, the Pope can never get it right or even gets credit for saying the right thing in the wrong way. He is derided when he seems to support gay rights and also when he denounces them. Let’s give the man a break already!
Agree totally!
“Telling the bishops that gay men should not be admitted to priestly formation, the pope argued ‘there is too much frociaggine in seminaries,’ a slur translated as faggotry”. A welcome change of tone on homosexuality in the priesthood however gruff. Nevertheless it didn’t take long to subvert any good intended by adding a list of compromises, including their dignity, blessing the frociaggine. Apparently the same clever word play that says one thing but suggests another. His Holiness is a master tactician. Austen Ivereigh translated correctly, “that the pope’s concern is narrowed to gay men seeing the priesthood as a way of living out their sexuality”.
Similarly the Instruction simply confirms past failed documents on discerning vocations citing men who are openly homosexual, deep seated in their disorder. Whereas all homosexuals who don’t precisely fit that assessment are waived through. More of the same duplicitous farce that is suffocating the priesthood and Church with sexually disordered men and candidates for the episcopate.
At one time during John Paul’s pontificate a candidate with same sex attraction was to be prohibited. That was quickly compromised to where we’re at today. It’s like telling a normal young man that he’s to spend the rest of his life in close proximity with women.
Sure. The problem is that there is “too much” of it. Otherwise it would be ok for him…
As I posted elsewhere, Francis did not apologize, there not one direct quote of him in the press release….
Which press release then said the comments were made behind closed doors and only report upon…
So we have a non-apology apology for a happening which is only rumored.
And far from a hard line, only a blurred line between some homosexual sex in seminaries as opposed to too much homosexual sex in seminaries.
With this PR swan dive, is anyone actually expecting even more firm action when by Francis’ admission and despite own signing off on squelching gay admissions, it still continues? Any true action on this at all? Seminary director and staff sacking? Bishop removal?
No, only an occasion for ribald humor answered with guffaws from bishops.
We read: “’Whereas they are scandalized if I give it to a homosexual … This is hypocrisy! We must all respect each other. Everyone’, the Holy Father said.”
And, yet, Fiducia Supplicans blesses NOT A homosexual, but homosexuals as “COUPLES.”
Without being judgmental, yours truly has long felt that part of Pope Francis’ difficulty with the Church in America is simply that he does not speak the universal language of English. (His recent interview on 60 Minutes was handled through a Spanish interpreter.) Another part of his difficulty, of course, is the privileged access given to certain of his appointees in the American hierarchy.
On an historic cultural scale, when spoken and written language fails we might be reminded of the magnified Iconoclastic Controversy of the 7th and 8th centuries, and public education through visual stained glass windows in Medieval times, and now the bypassing of language by gestures, signaling, and photo-ops as with poster-child James Martin, SJ and Jeannine Gramick of New Ways Ministries.
All this erosion and replacement of coherent communication is worthy of a doctoral dissertation somewhere! Probably not thoughtfully written, of course, but “aggregated and compiled” (that’s synodal-speak!) soon by AI and stored in the inclusive Cloud.
For amnesiacs and the functionally illiterate, some in red hats, all memes are equal, but some are more equal than others.
If only the current pontiff were as quick to apologize to those he termed pharisaical, rigid, doctors of the Law, backwardists, etc. Then again, those so referred to don’t have what one writer years ago referred to as “approved victim status,” so it’s doubtful that apologies will be forthcoming.
Strange that some ultra trads are applauded when they use such language while condemning the Pope for using the same! Oh what fools we mortals be! 😂
The pope is condemned because of his rank hypocrisy in talking out of both sides of his mouth. He’s the fool for thinking people don’t see through it.
Apologies for deviant lifestyle choices! What would St Paul say?
Call a spade a spade; yeah who ratted him out?
they have no right to be a seminarian if they are gay..its just not right and is against God!
I was amused to see at least one precedent for what would now be called ‘inappropriate’ papal utterances. According to the Wikipedia entry for Benedict XIV (who ruled 1740-58), this pope, though noted for his keen intellect and considered one of the best scholars to have occupied the papal throne, frequently used profane language. According to the writer of the article, he tried to cure this by having a crucifix placed in every room to discourage his colorful language.