Pope Francis again uses slur for gay priests in the Vatican: Italian media

ROME − Pope Francis has again used a highly disparaging word for gay people for which he had already apologized last month, the ANSA news agency reported Tuesday.

Italian media had attributed to the pope the use of an Italian vulgarity on May 20 during a closed-door meeting with Italian bishops.

Francis, who has made overtures to gay Catholics, quickly apologized after those reports. "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," the Vatical said in a statement last month.

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According to ANSA, Francis, 87, repeated the term on Tuesday as he met with Roman priests, saying "there is an air of (homosexuality) in the Vatican," and it was better that young men with homosexual leanings not be allowed to enter the seminary.

Asked about the latest report, the Vatican's press office made reference to a statement it had issued regarding Tuesday's meeting, in which the pope reiterated the need to welcome gay people into the Church − and the need for caution regarding them becoming seminarians.

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After the initial report of his use of the vulgar word, the Corriere della Sera newspaper quoted unnamed bishops who were in the room as suggesting that the pope, as an Argentine, might not have realised that the Italian term he used was offensive.

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Francis has been credited with making substantial overtures towards the LGBT community during his 11-year papacy. Some observers of the Vatican say his recent missteps undermine his authority and raise questions about his convictions and the reform path he has in mind for the Church.