In a closed-door meeting with Italian bishops, Pope Francis has ignited controversy by using a derogatory term to describe the LGBT community, according to reports from Italian media. La Repubblica and Corriere della Sera, two prominent Italian newspapers, quoted the Pope as stating that gay people should not be allowed to enter the priesthood, referring to the seminaries as already overcrowded with "frociaggine," a vulgar Italian slang term meaning "faggottness."

While the source of the story remains unspecified, La Repubblica attributed it to several unnamed sources, whereas Corriere della Sera claimed support from a few unidentified bishops. These bishops, however, suggested that the Pope, being Argentine, might not have realized that the term he used was highly offensive in Italian.

Dagospia, a political gossip website, was the first to report on the alleged incident, which is said to have occurred on May 20 during a non-public meeting between the Italian Bishops Conference and Pope Francis. This incident comes as a surprise, as the Pope, who is 87 years old, has been praised for his efforts in leading the Roman Catholic Church towards a more inclusive approach to the LGBT community.

In 2013, at the beginning of his papacy, Pope Francis famously stated, "If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?" This statement was seen as a significant shift in the Church's stance on homosexuality. Furthermore, just last year, Pope Francis allowed priests to bless same-sex couples, which triggered backlash from conservatives within the Church.

However, this recent incident reveals Pope Francis reiterating his stance on gay individuals seeking priesthood, albeit without the offensive language. In 2018, during a meeting with Italian bishops, he urged them to carefully evaluate and reject any suspected homosexual applicants. This echoes a 2005 document released under Pope Francis's predecessor, Benedict XVI, which outlined the Church's stance on admitting individuals with homosexual tendencies into the priesthood.

According to the Vatican's guidelines mentioned in the document, those who had clearly overcome homosexual tendencies for at least three years could be admitted. On the other hand, practicing homosexuals, those with "deep-seated" gay tendencies, and those who "support the so-called gay culture" were excluded from priesthood consideration.

This recent development has reignited the ongoing debate within the Catholic Church regarding its stance on homosexuality. Supporters of the LGBT community argue that such derogatory language from Pope Francis is deeply hurtful and goes against the Church's reformed approach, while conservative voices within the Church maintain that the exclusion of gay individuals from the priesthood is in line with Church doctrine.

As this story continues to unfold, it remains to be seen how Pope Francis and the Vatican will address the concerns raised by this incident, and whether it will impact the trajectory of the Church's relationship with the LGBT community.