Priestly training – Pope: fuss about alleged ‘faggot’ plaintiff

Explaining why he opposed the admission of this group to the country’s seminaries, the church leader reportedly said that there was already “too much faggots” there. The term “froci” reportedly used by the Pope is roughly equivalent to the German term “faggot” and is generally perceived as derogatory in Italy; However, in the language of the capital Rome it is often used informally and not necessarily in a derogatory way.

Sager relayed this to the media
The pope’s words were apparently relayed to the media by some participants in the bishops’ meeting. The Rome correspondent of the magazine ‘America’, which is published by the Jesuit order and is largely pro-Pope, also reported on this on Monday evening, citing earwitnesses.

According to La Repubblica, some bishops viewed the choice of words as an unintentional mistake by Francis, whose native language is not Italian but Spanish. It was clear to those present that the pope was unaware of how offensive the word was in Italian, the bishops said.

Debate about homosexuals in the seminary
In fact, the rejection of sexually active homosexuals in priestly formation is consistent with the current policy of the Roman Catholic Church in this area. The standard was adopted in 2005 under Pope Benedict XVI. (2005-2013) and last confirmed by Pope Francis in 2016.

Bishops in Italy had debated a more flexible approach to these guidelines in light of declining enrollments in most of the country’s seminaries and a changing social climate toward homosexuals. The Pope has now apparently responded negatively to this debate. Neither the Vatican nor the Italian bishops’ conference made any statement on the matter Monday evening.

‘Block tax money for the church’
Italy’s LGBTQ associations were outraged. She complains about homophobia in the church. “In the Catholic Church we no longer know where to hide the many homosexuals among the clergy. The repressive policies of the Catholic Church towards the LGTQBIA+ community must end,” said Rosario Coco, president of the gay association Gaynet.

“We should not forget that the seminaries in Italy are also financed with Italian tax money. If this discriminatory statement by the Pope is confirmed, we demand that the government in Rome block taxpayer funds for the Catholic Church,” demanded Fabrizio Marrazzo, spokesperson for the “Gay LGBT+” party.