(UnitedVoice.com) – Pope Francis is widely seen as the most progressive head of the Catholic Church in modern history. Despite his popularity, he recently came under fire for remarks he made about gay men. Now he’s facing backlash for more inflammatory remarks.
Misogynistic Remarks
The pope attended a conference with trainee priests recently and told them: “Gossiping is for women.” The comments were viewed as sexist by attendees. They were similar to remarks he made to another group of priests last year. He told that group, “Gossiping is a plague, it helps no-one [sic].” He also said the male priests should “wear the trousers” and “know how to say things as they are.”
Pope Francis also came out strongly against allowing women to become clergy. Those remarks were made in May during an interview with CBS News anchor Norah O’Donnell. He appeared on the show “60 Minutes.”
O’Donnell told the pope that boys and girls would attend World Children’s Day at the end of June and she was curious if he would ever allow little girls to “have the opportunity to be a deacon and participate as a clergy member in the Church.”
The pope said, “No.”
Francis said women can be of “great service” but “not as ministers […] within the holy orders.” Although he doesn’t believe they can ever serve in that role, the pope complimented women. He called them “braver than the men” and “masterful custodians of life.” He explained that the women “help foster [the church’s] motherliness.”
Vatican Apologizes for Slur
The most recent controversy came just days after the Vatican apologized for remarks the pontiff made in a closed-door meeting with approximately 250 Italian bishops in May. According to reports, Francis was taking questions from bishops at their annual assembly when someone brought up the possibility of allowing gay men into seminaries, or colleges for priests.
The pope reportedly called gay men a slur and said they would not be welcome in seminaries. Someone who attended the meeting relayed Pope Francis’ words to the Italian website Dagospia. Other Italian news sources soon began looking into the story and confirmed it.
Holy See Director Matteo Bruni issued a statement saying the pope was aware of reports about the conversation he had “behind closed doors.” He also stated that Francis has repeatedly said, “there is room for everyone” in the Catholic church. “The Pope never meant to offend or to use homophobic language, and [apologizes] to everyone who felt offended” by the word he used, Bruni said.
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