The pontiff reportedly made the homophobic remark in a closed-door meeting last week as he told Italian bishops that gay men shouldn’t be allowed to train for the priesthood.

“The Pope never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms, and he extends his apologies to those who felt offended by the use of a term, as reported by others,” the Vatican said in a Tuesday statement.

“As he (Pope Francis) has said on several occasions, ‘in the Church there is room for everyone, everyone! No one is useless, no one is superfluous, there is room for everyone. Just as we are, everyone.’”

Seems like they’re playing it off as “grandpa had a woopsie”.

  • gregorum@lemm.eeOPEnglish
    0·
    6 months ago

    I don’t think we can know what he intended. We can make an assumption based off his past actions, and I’m inclined to believe this explanation. Italian isn’t his first language, he’s old, and I think it’s a likely explanation that he slipped up and made an old man mistake.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldMEnglish
      0·
      6 months ago

      Nonsense. That’s like saying a Chinese person in America didn’t intend to call a queer person a fag because they didn’t know the language, slipped up and made an old man mistake.

      You do not “slip up” and say bigoted things “by mistake” unless you know they’re bigoted and have said them before.

      So unless you’re making the not especially credible claim that he was taught that Italian word and no one ever told him it was offensive, I think it was a terrible excuse.

      And he still needs to apologize himself, not send some lackey to do it for him.

      • gregorum@lemm.eeOPEnglish
        0·
        6 months ago

        sorry, i don’t agree. you can believe what you want, however we can’t really know… and i’m not convinced.