Pope Francis advised homosexuals who want to be priests to go to a “psychologist” and once again generated controversy. The phrase was uttered in a private meeting with priests in Rome, according to Italian media.
During a private meeting with 200 priests at the Salesian Pontifical University in Rome on Tuesday, the Pope was questioned about vocations and again used the controversial term “frociaggine”. This word from the Roman dialect is difficult to translate, but it derives from “frocio“, which means “faggot,” he reported AFP.
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“In the Vatican, there is an atmosphere of ‘frociaggine‘”, declared the pope, quoted by the Italian news agency Ansa.
“Gays are good kids (…) they seek the Lord. But It is better to guide them towards a good spiritual father, towards a psychologist” instead of accepting them in the seminary, added the Argentine pope, according to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.
What the Vatican said about Francis’ statements
The Vatican reported in a statement that “Francis spoke of the danger of ideologies in the Church and returned to the issue of admitting people with homosexual tendencies to seminaries, reiterating the need to welcome and accompany them in the Church.”
According to Vatican Newsat the meeting it was mentioned “the prudential indication for the admission into seminaries of people with homosexual tendencies.”
Pope Francis once again spoke about homosexuals in the Church (Photo: (AFP – Tiziana Fabi).
At the end of May, Francis apologized for having used the word “frociaggine” in a closed-door meeting with Italian bishops and the Vatican stated that the pontiff never wanted to “offend or express himself in homophobic terms.”
These statements generated a global controversy and associations that defend the rights of the LGTBI+ community expressed their indignation and disappointment.
