Pope Francis apologises for utilizing homophobic slur | EUROtoday

Issued on: 28/05/2024 – 18:43

2 min

“The pope never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms and he extends his apologies to those who felt offended by the use of a term, reported by others,” the Vatican stated in an announcement.

During a gathering with greater than 250 bishops final week, the 87-year-old pontiff was stated to have used an offensive time period whereas expressing his opposition to gay males coming into coaching faculties for monks, even when they dedicated to celibacy.

According to 2 Italian newspapers, Francis stated there was already an excessive amount of “frociaggine” in seminaries, utilizing an offensive Roman time period that interprets as “faggotry”.

The reviews made headlines all over the world, with commentators noting an obvious discrepancy between the pope’s phrases and his beforehand welcoming strategy to LGBTQ folks.

In 2013, simply weeks after taking workplace, he stated that “if someone is gay and is searching for the Lord and has good will, then who am I to judge him?”

There was some hypothesis after the reviews emerged Monday that Francis, the son of an Italian emigrant to Argentina and whose first language is Spanish, didn’t perceive the detrimental connotations of the phrase he was utilizing.

FRANCE 24’s Seema Gupta reviews from Rome.

04:12

The Vatican assertion didn’t verify that he used the phrase however referred to newspaper articles.

“As he had the opportunity to state on several occasions: ‘In the Church there is room for everyone, everyone! Nobody is useless, nobody is superfluous, there is space for everyone. Just as we are, all of us’,” the assertion stated.

Francis, a former archbishop of Buenos Aires who relishes being amongst his flock and cultivates a picture of a down-to-earth chief, has a historical past of talking bluntly.

Off-the-cuff remarks embody saying Catholics needn’t “breed like rabbits”. He additionally seemingly defended using violence to defend one’s religion, saying in 2015 that “if a good friend speaks badly of my mother, he can expect to get punched”.

At a gathering with Catholic households in Verona this month, Francis advised a joke a few grumpy shopkeeper, pausing midway by means of the punchline so it appeared like it could finish with a swear phrase, earlier than correcting himself with a cheeky chuckle.

‘Harmful’ language

But Francis DeBernardo, head of US LGBTQ Catholic group New Ways Ministry, had advised AFP forward of the Vatican assertion that he would welcome an apology from the pope.

“Pope Francis has not always been clear in his remarks about LGBTQ+ people,” he stated.

“We hope this incident will encourage him to learn more about the language he uses, and about how misuse can be dangerously harmful.”

In Rome on Tuesday, some guests additionally expressed dismay on the phrases utilized by such an essential non secular chief.

“I’m shocked. Religion is about uniting… to bring people together,” stated Caterina Constantinava, a vacationer visiting from London.

Her daughter, Alexandria, 14, added: “As a person who has such high power, he doesn’t need to go around using foul language.

“He can just simply say ‘I disagree with this’, he doesn’t need to use such language, it’s just disrespectful,” she stated.

(AFP)