Gay Pastor Expresses Shock at Pope's Remarks on LGBTQ Community and Calls for Deeper Conversation

In today's society, the acceptance of the LGBTQ community is growing, but when this progress meets with traditional concepts in the religious realm, a series of contradictions and challenges arise. Recently, an openly gay pastor expressed shock and sadness over the offensive language used by Pope Francis in a discussion with Italian bishops. The incident has not only attracted widespread attention, but has also rekindled the debate on the relationship between religion and sexual minorities.

Pope Francis reportedly mentioned "too many Frochaginis in the seminary" during a discussion, an expression that has caused great controversy. The use of the word "Frochagini," which has a distinctly pejorative connotation in Italian and is used specifically to refer to male homosexuals, is undoubtedly offensive and discriminatory. In response, the Vatican responded that the Pope was aware of the reports, but emphasized that the Pope never intended to use homophobic language to express himself and apologized to those who felt offended by it.

The pastor said that while he welcomed the pope's apology, the incident undoubtedly did serious damage to the pope's unprecedented openness to members of the LGBTQ community. He emphasized that to understand the seriousness of the Pope's use of defamation, it is important to distinguish between the intent and impact of his words. While some have tried to downplay the incident as an unfortunate choice of words or linguistic impropriety, there is no doubt that the use of such language is dehumanizing and has caused serious human suffering and harm to sexual minorities.

In addition, the priest pointed out that the Vatican's policy on whether openly gay men should be admitted to the seminary ignores the reality that there are many gay priests and bishops who faithfully and generously serve the Church. From his own experience of more than 40 years in the priesthood, sexual orientation is not an issue that determines the effectiveness of ministry, nor should it be the sole reason for banning men from the seminary.

Finally, this pastor raises a profound question: are gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals, and coolies really considered full and equal members of the Church? He argued that Pope Francis' remarks and the policies behind them show that significant limitations and conditions still exist on the Church's acceptance of sexual minorities.

In the face of this controversy, the priest called on the Pope to listen directly to homosexual priests with an open heart and to truly see them as part of the Church. It is only through deep dialog and listening that the Church can truly become a welcoming place for all.