Pope to bishops: don’t admit gays to seminaries because there’s too much ‘faggotry’ in the priesthood already

ROME — Pope Francis has reportedly said there is “too much faggotry” among trainee priests in remarks that will confound those who regarded him as being sympathetic to homosexuals in the Catholic Church.

The 87-year-old Argentinian pontiff reportedly made the remarks in a behind-closed-doors address to bishops last week but they leaked out to the Italian press on Monday. He said he was opposed to trainee priests – known as seminarians – leading a “double life” by purporting to be celibate but secretly being gay.

According to multiple Italian news outlets on Monday night, citing different sources, Francis told a gathering of the Italian Bishops’ Conference: “There’s already too much faggotry” in seminaries. The Pope famously said “Who am I to judge?” when asked about homosexuals within the Church at the start of his papacy in 2013, heralding a new, more inclusive approach to the issue. He said that gay people should never be shunned or ostracised, telling journalists on his return flight from a visit to Brazil: “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” But his remarks to Italian bishops, if confirmed, appear to throw that tolerance into question.