Pope Francis reportedly used a slur to describe gay men two weeks after the Vatican issued an apology for a previous use of the term.
Bishops told Italian media that the pope first jokingly said that there was too much “frociaggine,” which roughly translates to “faggotness,” in the seminaries, in a May 20 meeting with bishops. Two weeks after the Vatican issued an apology, saying Francis didn’t intend to use a remark offensive to gay people, he was accused by Italian media of using it again.
According to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, and news agencies ANSA and Adnkronos, Francis repeated the term, though this time only using it to repeat something another bishop told him.
“A bishop came to me and told me, ‘There is too much frociaggine here in the Vatican,’” Francis allegedly said.
Summarizing the meeting, the Vatican only said that the pope once again cautioned against admitting homosexuals into the priesthood, the same topic that led to his first use of the term.
After the first reported use of the term, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni released a statement apologizing for Pope Francis’s remarks.
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“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,” Bruni said.
Francis is widely viewed as one of the least conservative popes, often taking moves that anger more conservative members of the faith.
