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Pope Francis, while speaking about the non-admission of homosexual men in church seminaries because of the presence of 'too much' gay sexual activity, used an offensive slur which left the bishops shocked in Italy.

The Vatican claimed on Tuesday that Pope Francis did not mean to use homophobic term and apologises to anybody who was affected by it.

In an email statement, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni stated, "The pope never intended 

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to offend or express himself in homophobic terms, and he apologises to those who felt 

offended by the use of a term reported by others."

A closed-door meeting was being held by the pontiff at an episcopal conference at the Vatican where it was being discussed that homosexual men should not be admitted to colleges for priesthood training, according to Italian media reports.

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During the meeting, the bishops were taken aback by the 87-year-old pontiff's language when he used the derogatory word 'frociaggine', a vulgar Italian word that roughly translates to "faggotry" in English.

Here's what Pope Francis said 

Citing sources, Italian news agency Adnkronos reported that Pope Francis in his speech said, "Look: there is already an air of f*****ry around that is not good. There is today's culture of homosexuality with respect to those who have a homosexual orientation [who] are better off not being accepted [into the seminary]." 

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An 'incredulous laughter' broke out in the room after the remarks were made by Pope Francis, said bishops, while speaking to the newspaper Corriere della Sera. 

According to some, this was an honest mistake made by Pope Francis, whose second language is Italian. They argued that the Pope was not aware of how offensive the word was.

Pope Francis' alleged remarks, which have gone against recent moves for amending seminary admission rules, have come as a surprise for some since Francis is known to have a more liberal view on LGBT rights in comparison to his predecessors.

The pontiff had last year called the laws which criminalised homosexuality a 'sin' and an 'injustice', and permitted Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples, which was a step ahead for LGBT rights in the church.

However, a similar message on gay seminarians was delivered by the Pope, which did not include the reported swear word, during his meeting with Italian bishops in 2018 in which he asked them to carefully vet priesthood applicants and not include anyone who is suspected of being homosexual.

Former priest says 'stunned' by Pope Francis' remarks

A former priest and gay rights activist Francesco Lepore said that he was 'stunned' by the comments allegedly made by Pope Francis.

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"Despite being accustomed by now to the type of direct language on the part of Bergoglio, speaking of 'f***ry' in the seminaries seems more like a bar and a tavern than a Pontiff," Lepore said while speaking to la Repubblica, using Pope Francis' birth name Jorge Mario Bergoglio. 

"This expression would never have appeared on the lips of Paul VI, John Paul II or Benedict XVI, who also took damning positions towards homosexuality," said the former priest.

"The Pope is right that the number of homosexual seminarians and clerics is very high. But the simplicity of language has nothing to do with vulgarity," he added.

(With inputs from agencies)