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* World

# Pope Francis Apologizes for Using ‘F—’ Slur During Private Discussion on Gay Priests

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<!-- video src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/vECzWgKo.m3u8" -->
## Video: Pope Francis Apologizes for Using ‘F—’ Slur During Private Discussion on Gay Priests

[Watch (HLS stream): Pope Francis Apologizes for Using ‘F—’ Slur During Private Discussion on Gay Priests](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/vECzWgKo.m3u8) (1:01)

![Pope Francis Apologizes for Using ‘F—’ Slur During Private Discussion on Gay Priests](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/vECzWgKo/poster.jpg?width=720)

_Published 2024-05-29. Pope Francis apologized on Tuesday after he was quoted using a vulgar term about gay men to reaffirm the Catholic Church’s ban on gay priests._


---

May 29, 2024 5:20 PM UTC

---

## More From This Series

[All Videos](https://time.com/video/)

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### Pope Francis Apologizes to Canada's Indigenous Communities for the Church's Harmful Legacy

[Pope Francis Wants to Consider Ordaining Married Men as Priests](/video/1E2m3BtK/)

### Pope Francis Wants to Consider Ordaining Married Men as Priests

[Pope Francis Says the Ban on Women Priests Will Last Forever](/video/Y27v1yt8/)

### Pope Francis Says the Ban on Women Priests Will Last Forever

---


## Transcript

Pope Francis was forced to apologize after he was caught using a derogatory slur to describe gay men. Francis was speaking behind closed doors on May 20 to a group of Italian bishops. According to media reports, he used the term faggotry in describing the atmosphere of some seminaries. Francis was essentially upholding the Vatican's ban on allowing gay men to enter seminaries and become priests. The Vatican was forced to issue a statement on Tuesday where the Pope apologized. He said he never intended to use a homophobic term or to cause offense. And the statement also recalled that Francis has really made a priority of making the church open to everyone.

Indeed, he has really prioritized reaching out to LGBT Q Catholics, starting from that very first line, who am I to judge back in 2013.

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