private meetings. Francis was twice quoted by Italian media in the last month as using the Italian term “frociaggine,” roughly translating as “faggotness” or “faggotry,” referring to priests and to the general atmosphere in the Vatican. The Vatican issued a rare apology after the first report, but the incident sparked outrage and Vatican watchers said it had damaged Francis’ image as a reforming LGBTQ-friendly pope.
“Stop using offensive language against the LGBTQIA+ community, this leads to immense pain,” said Acebedo Rivera, who said he was a psychology student at the Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines. “I myself I am outcasted and bullied due to my bisexuality, my gayness, my identity, and being a son of a single parent,” he said.