Pope’s Anti-Gay Slur Lays Bare Church’s Contradictions

When reports dispersed that Pope Francis had utilized an violative anti-gay slur portion speaking to Italian bishops astatine a league past month, many Catholics were some shocked and baffled. How could a pope known for his openness to and acceptance of L.G.B.T.Q. radical usage homophobic slang and caution prelates astir admitting cheery men into seminaries?

But the question, and the evident inconsistency successful Francis’ messaging, bespeak the heavy contradictions and tensions that underlie the Roman Catholic Church’s and Francis’ narration to homosexuality.

The religion holds that “homosexual tendencies” are “intrinsically disordered.” When it comes to ordination, the church’s guidelines authorities that radical with “deep-seated” cheery tendencies should not go priests.

Yet ordination has besides agelong been a refuge of sorts for homosexual Catholic men, according to researchers and priests, who accidental that at slightest thousands of clergymen are gay, though lone a fewer are nationalist astir their intersexual predisposition due to the fact that of the stigma it inactive carries successful the church.

While successful the past each of these contradictions were muffled by an aura of taboo, Francis’ caller off-the-cuff comments person thrown them into the open.

“The pope lifted the veil,” said Francesco Lepore, a erstwhile Latinist astatine the Vatican who near the church, came retired arsenic cheery and became an activist.