Pope Francis’s problem goes beyond vulgar language

The Pope is only infallible when he speaks “ex cathedra” — i.e. when pronouncing on doctrinal matters of faith as Pontifex Maximus. So, last week, when Francis privately told a gathering of bishops that he opposed the ordination of homosexual priests because there was too much “frociaggine” — or faggotry — in the priesthood already, he was not speaking formally as the Vicar of Christ. Francis’s remarks inevitably caused anger within the LGBQT communities. Fabrizio Marrazzo, leader of the Italian Gay Party, accused the Pope of “backsliding on gay rights.”

The truth is that the Pope is a specialist when it comes to shooting off his mouth

The Vatican has duly apologized in a statement. It said: “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, reported by others.”

You can almost hear the curial anxiety in that quote. But the truth is that the Pope is a specialist when it comes to shooting off his mouth. He’s famous in Roman Catholic circles for his “salty tongue.” The veteran Catholic reporter John Allen says that he has a reputation for “off-color, occasionally vulgar language.” He once offended fecund Catholics by saying they ought not to “breed like rabbits.” On another occasion, he said that “if a good friend speaks badly of my mother, he can expect to get punched” — an impious remark, though no doubt his madre would have been proud. 

But it probably won’t do to get too hung up about the Pope’s occasional verbal lapses. Even the successors to Peter are human. What is more disturbing for Catholics is the Pope’s apparent inconsistency on the matter of homosexuality and Catholic Church teaching. Last year he distressed traditionalists by opening the door to the Church’s blessing of same-sex unions. Yet at the same time he seems to be strongly opposed to gay men, even if they are not sexually active, joining the priesthood. Church teaching suggests that it “cannot admit to the seminary or to holy orders those who practice homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called “gay culture” — though they should be treated with “respect and sensitivity.”

These are difficult questions for a Church that has struggled to preserve its teachings on matters of sexuality in recent decades, especially following the widespread clerical child sex-abuse scandal. The Catholic faithful would benefit from a spiritual leader who provided a little more light and less heat.   

This article was originally published on The Spectator’s UK website.