Pope Francis has apologized for using tactless terms about gays in a closed meeting with bishops.
This was reported by Vatican News.
The director of the press service of the Holy See Matteo Bruni assures that the Pope never intended to use homophobic terms, so he apologizes to those who were offended by the information that appeared in the media.
A Vatican spokesman reiterated that the Pope remains committed to a church that is welcoming to all, where "no one is unnecessary, no one is superfluous, where there is room for all."
It is worth noting that the Pope publicly apologizes extremely rarely.
- On May 27, Pope Francis said in a meeting with Italian bishops that there is 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.