Pope Francis Accused of Repeating Homophobic Slur He Recently Apologized For

Pope Francis has been accused of repeating a homophobic slur he recently apologized for.

As reported by the Italian news agency ANSA, the head of the Catholic Church allegedly said the Italian slur "frociaggine" in a closed-door meeting on Tuesday, June 11. "There is an air of frociaggine in the Vatican," he reportedly said. The offensive slang term roughly translates to "f****try" or "f*****ness." Anonymous sources present at the meeting said he made the comment while cautioning against the admission of gay men into Roman Catholic seminaries.

The 87-year-old pontiff used the slur during a closed-door meeting on May 20, which prompted the Vatican to issue a rare apology. "The Pope never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms, and he apologizes to those who felt offended by the use of a term reported by others,” said Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni.

The Vatican has not commented on reports he used the term again but did acknowledge that he said gay people are welcome in the Catholic Church even if he would advise against them becoming priests.

After Francis was elected Pope in 2013, he gained a reputation for being more welcoming of the LGBT+ community than his predecessors. "If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?” he famously told reporters that same year.

He also approved a ruling last year that allows priests to bless same-sex couples, but not within the context of marriage or civil unions. In a statement, the Vatican said the Catholic Church can't bless same-sex marriage because God can't "bless sin." In a letter shared later that year, Pope Francis wrote, "We cannot be judges who only deny, push back, exclude."