Pope Francis was accused of homophobic remarks during a closed meeting.
Two Italian newspapers Corriere della Sera and La Repubblica wrote about it with reference to sources who were at the meeting.
Pope Francis, in a meeting with Italian bishops last week, said there was a "problem" in some seminaries, which he described with the word frociaggine. Figuratively, it translates as "fag". Such a statement was made in the context of a discussion of proposals to change the guidelines for seminary candidates. He allegedly ordered bishops not to allow gays to study to become priests.
Corriere della Sera writes that the problem is that Pope Francisʼ communication style is quite unpredictable and direct and sometimes leads to difficult situations and misunderstandings. Journalists of the publication explain: "Of course, no one doubts that it was just a blunder, albeit an unpleasant one. Pope Francis, the one who, a few months after his election, shocked the world by saying: ʼWho am I to judge gays?ʼ". He has not changed his views, even if his latest initiatives are more about style of interaction than doctrine. He even helped transsexuals who got into a difficult situation due to the pandemic."
In 2005, the Vatican ruled that the church cannot ordain men who are actively gay or have "deep-seated" homosexual tendencies. In 2016, Pope Francis supported this decision.
As CNN points out, Vatican officials have not yet responded to inquiries about Pope Francisʼ comments on the use of the term frociaggine.